Randall Paul Jenkins, Esq. » Blog Archive

So I just got the mail delivered here at work and while none of the books I ordered last week came, one package full of amazing content was delivered. My good friend Chad Pearson recently started a company called “P is for Panda,” and decided to send me a little package of visual splendor. Button Pack, Stickers and even a Mix Tape, who sends a Mix Tape? P is for Panda is who! Anyway, I’m putting stickers all over the place in Downtown LA, and demanding all of you to go head over and support the Panda. Now you might be like… “A clothing company? I don’t even like clothes.” Which I understand, that’s totally normal, however this company works a little different.

P is for Panda cares about artists (and hey look at me I’m an artist!), which is actually a rare these days. Perhaps more rare, P is for Panda cares about our world, and backs it up with real monies. One of my other good friends (oh, look at me and all my talented friends) has designed all of the items currently available, so not only are you supporting one of my friends, you are supporting two! I’m gonna just go ahead and pull this off their Virb site, so I get you all the facts.

What is P is For Panda?

After leaving The Militia Group - a company that I founded over 9 years ago - I still don’t really know how to respond to that question. However, I do know this: P Is For Panda is and will always be a company that supports the artist and the community.

For now, we are a clothing company. It may not necessarily seem revolutionary, but we believe that it takes small steps to incite change. Our clothing will be completely based on artist submissions. If we choose to use an artist’s design, the artist is then allowed to choose the item price, the size of the clothing run, and a charity to donate a portion of the proceeds to. World Wildlife Fund is the charity we will suggest to them, but again - it is the artist’s choice.

From there, the profit will be split three ways.
1. The Artist. We thought it was unfair that when an artist designed a shirt they simply got paid a flat fee. If the shirt goes on to sell thousands, the company makes all the money and the artist is left trying to pay rent. With this model, if the shirt sells well - the artist actually sees some of the cash!
2. A Charity. We want to give back. And what better way to give back than to give 1/3rd of our profits to a charity that is trying to better the world we live in? It’s a hell of a lot better than just making some cool shirts.
3. Us. We need cash to keep this thing rolling!

Many people in the “business world” have said that this model cannot and will not work. My question is: “Why?” Because we are thinking about someone other than ourselves? Because we are not concerned with a bottom line? Because we would rather help save a life rather than pad our pockets? People in the normal business world simply do not understand how a business can succeed while “giving away” 2/3rds of its profit. My simple answer is “Why not?”

If we fail - at least we failed while trying to do something meaningful. We would rather die trying than sit around on our butts complaining about the war, the worsening situation in Africa, the lack of aid in New Orleans, or the staggering number of people that are dying right now because they need a new kidney while most of us have one we don’t even need.

If you want to support Panda - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We believe this can work and we want to show the “business world” that together, we really can change things.

Lets change the way business works.

Chad Pearson and P is for Panda

Who can argue with proving narrow minded suits wrong? Not me, and not Billy Walsh either.

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