Copacetic helps St. Cat's with clothing sales

The word of the day is "cause marketing."

We learned it from Mary Osterman, who owns Copacetic at 409 Main Street, a store specializing in hats, t-shirts and dog toys (three necessities of a happy home).

Her store also has another line of goodies: Clothing with St. Catherine's High School logo: t-shirts, sweatshirts, garment bags, blankets and such. Everything the well-appointed St. Cat's alum would need.

What interested me about the St. Cat's goods at Copacetic is the fact that the store sells them not for profit, but solely to help the school. All proceeds of the St. Cat's sales go back to the school. True, Mary and her husband, Monte, have a daughter, Emily, at the school. But there's more to it than that.

"We're looking at the kind of people they graduate," Mary said. "The business community needs people with their high standards, and so we help to sustain their future. We believe in them."

There's a bit of a win/win as well. The school notes in the school newspaper that Copacetic sells school clothing, so when students or alumni can't purchase directly from the school, they come to her store. And maybe they buy something else as well. But Mary says she's also noticed something else: "It's amazing how many of our customers are St. Cat's alums ... you an tell them from their higher standards."