Sporting community spirit through swag

Few apparel companies are founded on the idea of developing social enterprise at the student level, but that's exactly the goal of local company Swag4Life. Officially incorporated in November of 2010, the company is preparing to launch its first shirt, tailored specifically to the N.C. State community.

Swag4Life hasn't been around for long, but the company hopes that it'll be able to find an audience with the college age group, starting with N.C. State. Marcus Rountree, the company's founder and a recent alumnus, feels the college focus gives Swag4Life an edge.

"We wanted to find a design that would capture a large audience," Rountree said. "If we focused on the University, not only could we empower students, but it would fall in line with our company strategy to give back."

Rountree is hopeful his business will provide for students in more ways than one.

"A portion of our sales are paid in royalties to the school each quarter," Rountree said. "The school will then use that to make scholarships available."

Rountree's goal is not just to provide apparel to students, but also to be a part of the support system for students looking to travel or study abroad. It's this mentality of community and support that Rountree feels is at the core of Swag4Life.

The company's product line also seeks to bring people together, and promote discussion and social interaction. The "My swag is…" slogan that marks the front of each shirt is meant to represent this. For the N.C. State shirt, the design aims to bring students together.

Swag4Life was inspired by Rountree's time as a teacher and basketball coach at Daniels Middle School.

"When I was coaching basketball, we had a full court press called Swag," Rountree said. "SWAG itself stands for Self-Confidence, Work Ethic, Ambition, and Global Awareness."

The current shirt design, featuring the Wolfpack hand sign in a spotlight, will be followed by another shirt focusing on the University's athletic students.

"The kids are there late at night in the gym," Rountree said. "They train like crazy here at State. We're working on the idea of who has the best biceps at State, and that'll be our next campaign in the spring, when we'll roll out our new cut-off sleeves shirt."

For now, the first N.C. State-inspired design is ramping up for release. The shirts are being produced locally and manufactured by American Apparel. The shirts will be sold by Creative Tees and Imaging, as well as on the Swag4Life Facebook page, starting February.

Beyond that, Rountree hopes Swag4Life will be able to expand and become part of other campus communities in the area.

"We definitely see so many creative people here in North Carolina," Rountree said. "We see plenty of universities right around the corner that we will be able to hopefully work with. From there, we can expand to other universities, once we know how the game works."

As part of their campaign to expand and gain more brand recognition, Swag4Life is taking part in the PLNDR.com Brand Battle 2012. The contest, which allows Facebook fans to vote on different shirt designs, is meant to help promote lesser-known graphic designers and companies.

Rountree said he feels confident that his design will draw a lot of attention, and a push from the N.C. State community will help bring victory.

As it stands, Swag4Life is ready to provide a new and unique product for the students of the University. With the PLNDR contest ending Feb. 15, the same day as the new design goes on sale, Rountree hopes for big things for his fledgling business.

Swag4Life can be found online at facebook.com/swag4lifellc.