====HEADLINE====
Power to the Little People


====FACTS====
Kent Police have not only been criticised for spending £10,000 setting up an online gift shop, but they're also selling items that may infringe intellectual property rights.

A baby playsuit at the Kent Police shop with the slogan "I've been inside for 9 months", is strangely similar to one sold by independent baby clothing brand Oh Baby London since 2002.

The original Oh Baby London product has sold over 7000 units and been featured in high profile places - like the cover of Hello! magazine (May 2006) on Shane Ritchie's baby.

Oh Baby London is a small, ethical, independant baby clothing brand that prides itself on it's originality.



==== IMAGES====

links to images with descriptions

The Kent Police Website with similar product


Shane Ritchie's child on the cover of Hello! magazine, wearing the original Oh Baby London clothing


a shot of the Oh Baby London "been inside" playsuit



====LINKS====
the Kent Police Web shop
http://www.policegiftshop.co.uk/

Oh Baby London Website
http://www.ohbabylondon.com

Oh Baby London Blog
http://ohbabylondon.com/blog/


====QUOTES====

** From Hannah McHalick, Founder and designer, Oh Baby London
"'Been Inside for 9 Months' has been my bestselling slogan for 5 years - I must have sold around 7000 of them."

"I think it's pretty bad taste for the Police to make a joke out of going to prison, I don't think it's the right message for them to be putting out. There's such a serious problem with crime in this country and I think their focus should be on preventing crime rather than making money out of jokes about it. I'm worried that if a lot of people have a negative reaction to it that it might have a bad effect on us."

"We pride ourselves on being original, and really open to collaboration - I'm sure that if they would have contacted us before we could have worked something out."

"I'm a single mum of 2, running my own business, which is damn hard work"


** From the Kent Police website
http://www.kent.police.uk/News/Latest_News/Online%20shop.html

Kent Police has launched an online shop to help boost funds for community crime prevention initiatives.

Director of Support Services for Kent Police, Simon Redman said: 'The Kent Police online gift shop is an exciting new venture for Kent Police. The online shop is a positive and innovative way to meet demand for new police-themed products and hopefully raise money to put back into community projects.

'To get the online shop up and running, we have partnered with an experienced organisation which is set up to supply good quality merchandise.'


====ABOUT Oh Baby London====

Oh Baby London is an independent baby clothing brand based in Brick Lane, London, and sold all across the world from Europe to New York to Tokyo.

All of our designs are 100% original, created in our Brick Lane studio by people who love what they do.

Our clothing is inspired by the wonder and curiosity of those who will wear it, so we try to work in a way which means a better future for them.

We think that clothing shouldn't be disposable, so we build it from high quality materials, and don't believe in throwaway fads or hype.

We're also trying our hardest to be ethical throughout out entire process, from our fabric all the way through to our distribution.

For example, we collaborate with the HEBA Women's Project, a non-profit organisation which aims to empower women by teaching them skills

* and we're particularly proud of the fact all of our clothes manufactured from August 2007 use fabrics are tested free from harmful chemicals, and are made by people paid fairly with good working conditions