Is Boobies Rock! Making Money At The Expense Of Cancer Charities?

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 27, 2012 10:05PM

The Sun-Times has a wonderful article today that investigates the seemingly shady business practices of the group behind the “Boobies Rock!” t-shirts that are sold outside sporting events and at clubs across the area.

Reporter Stephanie Zimmerman spoke with several women who responded to Craigslist ads and found the women were tasked with selling the t-shirts under the guise of a fundraising tool, only to find out later that the owners of Boobies Rock! would only make charitable donations when confronted by the charities.

The Sun-Times found one charity received a $250,000 settlement from Boobies Rock! founder Adam Shyrock to settle a trademark infringement suit. Another received a paltry $100 donation while other charities Boobies Rock! name dropped didn’t receive a penny. Women who worked at one time hawking Boobies Rock! merchandise said they were able to raise $3,000 - $4,000 a shift, all from asking one simple question: “Would you like to make a donation to breast-cancer awareness?”

Boobies Rock! operates in 36 cities across the country, but Shryock defended his company by saying it’s a for-profit clothing company that doesn’t have to donate to charity. And yet philanthropy is the foundation for the company's marketing campaign. From their website:

Boobies Rock! is a creative blend of music, sports, fashion and pop culture. Established in September of 2010, Boobies Rock! has quickly grown to become one of the leading advocates for the awareness of breast cancer across the U.S. Our mission is simple; to create awareness through fun, fashionable and humorous clothing and accessories.

A portion of each online sale is donated to various breast cancer organizations throughout the country. Boobies Rock! donates only to organizations that provide direct funds and relief to active patients and survivors.

The Sun-Times Zimmerman noted, “online sale” was added after she started sniffing around. On the Boobies Rock! Facebook page, it lists a portion of every sale goes to breast cancer charities.

Shryock said his company donates more cash than what was noted and the reason his numbers don’t jibe with those of the charities who felt burned by Boobies Rock! is because the donations are made anonymously or through another company name.

A post to the Boobies Rock! Facebook page this afternoon addressed the article and criticism.

As a business that sells merchandise for breast cancer awareness, we are often criticized for what we do. In the eyes of some, we can never donate enough money or we are only donating money so that we can make big profits and on and on and on. This type of skepticism is to be expected with any company of similar nature, I'm sure. We have always tried to be as upfront as possible and even as a small business, Boobies Rock has given over $300,000 to charities in the last 2 years alone. However, we want to be better as an organization that is genuinely committed to a cause. Not only so that we can grow our own organization but so that we can help further develop non-profit programs throughout the country. We would love to hear from our supporters with any feedback you can provide. Good, bad or ugly. If there are things that you would like to see us do differently, please tell us

Better transparency would be a start.