US. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ inaugural mittens — a gift sewn by a Vermont teacher from repurposed wool and fleece spun from recycled plastic — have sparked a week of global media coverage and internet memes, as well as $1.8 million in sales of related products for several Green Mountain State charities.
Now they’re snagging a few online copycat scams.
Google the words “Bernie mittens,” and the ad at the top of the page promises the chance to “Buy 2 Get 1 Free Today. Free Worldwide Shipping. Licensed Store. No Taxes. American Made.”
“Beware of people who copy us!” it concludes. “If you find fake items online report it to us.”
That said, the advertiser’s phone number is disconnected, and its umbrella websites — nasmas.com and tysica.com, which say they “produce and sell the most high-quality toys and sell them worldwide at an affordable price” — do not include an address.
Jen Ellis, the Essex Junction educator who made the original mittens, isn’t behind these or similarly suspicious sites, even though she is identified on them.
“Lots of impostors out there using my name and likeness!” the second-grade Westford School teacher has posted on her official Twitter page.
The Vermont attorney general’s office, which has a “stopping scams” web page and a toll-free Consumer Assistance Program line at 800-649-2424, has reached out to Ellis but so far has released no other information.
The educator, for her part, says she’s working “to get Bernie mittens for all and to benefit a great charity” and also partnering with the Northfield-based Darn Tough knitting mill to produce mitten-inspired socks to support the Vermont Foodbank.
“While I never could have predicted this outcome,” she writes on her new official website, generositybringsjoy.com, “my life has taken me in the direction of public figure and agent for positive change.”
The copycat problems come a week after photographer Brendan Smialowski of the global news agency Agence France-Presse captured Sanders wearing the hot mittens and a cold scowl at President Joe Biden’s inauguration outside the U.S. Capitol.
“His camera was bouncing between Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri when he noticed Mr. Sanders with his naked eye,” The New York Times reported.
Sanders announced this week that related sold-out products — including $45 sweatshirts and $27 T-shirts bearing his much-memed photo — have raised $1.8 million for several human service charities.
“We’re glad we can use my internet fame to help Vermonters in need,” the senator said in a statement.
Ellis has offered three more pairs of hand-sewn mittens for auction — one for her 5-year-old daughter’s college fund, a second for the LGBTQ youth support agency Outright Vermont and a third for the Shelburne-based dog rescue Passion 4 Paws.
“I find so much joy in my life as a mother, teacher, partner and friend,” she has written on her website. “I don’t want to go into the mitten-making business full-time. However, I am going to use this moment of fame to spread a simple message: Generosity Brings Joy.”
