Sometimes a Dark Side to Onesie Pajamas

You are probably thinking its all fun and games in the world of onesies. But there is also a dark side to onesie pajamas, after all we have to try and make money to keep going and the commercial world is tough. We are a tiny speck in a galaxy far, far away in the commercial universe.

The Disney Corp must be cursing the dark side to onesie pajamas this week. Disney has been forced to recall a line of Darth Vader children’s onesies because they pose a choking hazard. They really should have known this given the Sith lord’s reputation. The bodysuits, which bear the slogan “If only you knew the power of the Dark Side”, were flagged by the Consumer Product Safety Commission after going on sale in stores. Fortunately, they’re not actually imbued with Force Choke abilities, but have snaps on the suits which “can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children” (a lesser known Sith torture method). The garments were recalled before anyone was injured. The recall involves about 10,000 onesies.

Other Star Wars merchandise has been flying off the shelves following the release of The Force Awakens. A sequel will arrive in 2017, but this week it was leaked that its release has been pushed back from May to December. Looper’s Rian Johnson will direct the sequel, which has yet to be given an official title – the internet is awash with suggestions.

We would love to produce an adult onesie with a Star Wars theme – maybe our polar funzee with a Storm Trooper on the pocket. But if we so much as thought it an army of lawyers from the dark side of onesie pajamas would besiege us.  This recent report from Chicago shows what can happen when you mess with the big boys:

Ronny Sage and Scott Zindell launched a little website Tinderbaby.com in May last year producing a themed onesie for parents of Tinder Babies – children born from two people who met each other through the popular dating app Tinder. Hundreds of orders were coming in from across the USA but Tinder was not pleased with its app being featured outside of its control. Tinder sent the start up three “cease and desist” letters, Sage says, claiming they owned the rights to the term “swipe right.” A search of the US Patent and Trademark Office indeed shows that Tinder has trademarked “Swipe Right,” including the use of the phrase on “Clothing; head wear and footwear.” Sage said he contemplated trying to fight Tinder for the right to make the “My Parents Swiped Right” onesie, but was advised by his lawyer that it would be extremely expensive. Really, come on guys, is a small online onesie retailer a threat to the Tinder business, would Disney really suffer if we sold a few hundred storm trooper adult onesies? But sometimes the little guys can fight back with a rebellion of their own. Prop designer, Andrew Ainsworth, who made the original Stormtrooper helmets for Star Wars won his copyright battle with director George Lucas over his right to sell replicas. He spent half a decade and almost one million dollars fighting the big boys legal team but now he is able to legally sell replica helmets. So shall we try and add the dark side to onesie pajamas?