"You are not what you own."
That's the refrain to the song "Merchandise" by the acclaimed and famously independent post-hardcore band Fugazi — a band which, among other stubbornly principled moves, refused to sell merchandise beyond their albums. In fact, the band would actively seek out and shut down anyone who dared to sell bootleg Fugazi t-shirts, too. Not because they wanted the money; because they stood by their principles.
However, there was one exception that become sort of an "official" bootleg, if you will. As singer/guitarist Ian MacKaye explained in The Art of the Band T-Shirt by Amber Easby and Henry Oliver:
I managed to trace one design back to a fairly well-known t-shirt company in the Boston area, and I called to tell them to cut it out. I spoke to the main guy there, and, of course, he wanted to do a deal. And, of course, the answer was still no. Still, we had a nice chat. He was curious why we didn't want to sell shirts, and after I explained our position, he seemed to respect it. About one month later, a friend at a record store alerted me to the 'This is not a Fugazi t-shirt' shirt. I traced it back to the same Boston dude. What a smart motherfucker he was! I called him up and said, 'Okay, you're funny and you're creative, so let's see how creative you are with accounting.' I asked him to choose an organization doing good work in his community and give them what would amount to the band's royalty for the shirts. I think he chose a women's shelter up there, and as far as I know he sent them money right up until he quit the business.'
The "This Is Not a Fugazi T-Shirt" t-shirt became sort of infamous; eventually, even Urban Outfitters tried to get it on the game.
More importantly: you can buy a "This Is Not A Fugazi T-Shirt" coffee mug courtesy of the Wear Diner. I'm not sure how "official" it is, but it's clever enough that I think MacKaye would approve.
