Music in above video by Rising Appalachia. Thanks for the support!
Professional herbalists Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs,
Nicole Telkes of Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine and Kathi
Langelier of Herbal Revolution are being sued for $100,000 in damages by
Shire City Herbals due to alleged Trademark Infringement and "intentional interference" with their business.
Fire Cider is a popular and generic herbal remedy in commerce. It consists of variations on garlic, ginger, horseradish, onion, and chili peppers infused in vinegar and strained. To many, its as common as chicken soup.
The "Fire Cider 3" were surprised to hear that they were being sued for
$100,000 in damages. In February of 2014, two months before the
lawsuit was filed, Amy Huebner, owner of Shire City Herbals publicly
stated that a boycott that had been started against their company's trademarked version of "Fire Cider", effectively doubled their business”!!
Kathi, Mary and Nicole were also surprised that the lawsuit against them
demand that they shut down websites related to the free fire cider
movement that are not owned by them.
The real shocker came for the Fire Cider 3 when Kathi Langelier of
Herbal Revolution was named in the lawsuit. Due to on going pressure
from Shire City Herbals, she had changed the name of her Fire Cider
product to "Fire Tonic" in spring of 2014. Kathi is in compliance with their trademark claim, and she is still being sued.
TAKE ACTION!
DONATE to the Fire Cider 3 Legal Defense Fund..
This lawsuit now creates the need for monetary support. This lawsuit
pushes the Fire Cider 3 legal fees up to $30-$50,000. The lawyers have
worked pro-bono until this point, but with a new lawsuit, the defendants
have committed to pay for their countless hours of services, along with
travel, court costs, promotional material.....
These herbalists are putting their businesses at risk to protect herbal
traditions, and they working overtime on their defense, press, social
media and collecting evidence to prove that Fire Cider is generic, all
while trying to run small herbal companies!!
Please consider donating to the Fire Cider 3 legal defense fund.
http://freefirecider.com/donate/
CONTACT Shire City Herbals and tell them your thoughts on the issue:
Use your own words and stick to the facts. Check out the FAQ page
on the Trademark not Traditions page, then form your own opinion and
contact them if you feel that this is an important matter. Traditions
not Trademarks is demanding that Shire City Herbals drop the lawsuit on
the "Fire Cider 3", and revoke the Fire Cider trademark.
http://firecider.com/pages/contact-us
SUPPORT the Boycott
Supporters are welcome to contact your local stores that carry
Shire City Herbals Fire Cider. Their label has a pirate on it, which is
very fitting. They are pirating herbal traditions!!
http://freefirecider.com/take-action/support-the-boycott/
SPREAD the Word!
change.org Almost 10,000 signatures!
Facebook Almost 5,000 likes!
Twitter Almost 1,000 followers!
SUPPORT small local herbal companies!
Buy Fire Cider from a local producer. If it has a pirate on the label, it is trademarked!!
DISTRIBUTE promotional material
Email Laura at Sage Mountain for Free Fire Cider flyers and coming soon.. stickers!!
sage@sagemountain.com
ORGANIZER assistants needed
Do you live in Austin, Rhode Island or central Vermont?
TnT needs in person support!
Can you dedicate 3-6 hours a week to the cause and work (in person) with the organizing team?
We are looking for folks with the following skills:
social media, editing, fundraising, PR, research
You will need references from the herbal community!
email: freefirecider@gmail.com with the subject line "organizer assistant".
SEND in your stories
Do you have a story about Fire Cider? Do you sell it? Were you contacted
by Shire City Herbals? Send in a written story of video to be shared on
freefirecider.com
email us at freefirecider@gmail.com
