Because the United States government does not provide financial support for its Olympic athletes, the U.S. Olympic Committee uses merchandise revenue to help fund their travel for the games. So Olympic merchandise is an important business for the committee, which broke records when it sold $115 million in gear for the London Olympics, surpassing its $100 million goal. It also raised $375,000 through the sale of individual $12 stitches on an American flag that traveled with Team USA to England.

The mittens, which retail for $14, are an adaptation of the popular red maple-leaf mittens that took the spotlight at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, as fans raised their mittened hands to show their support for Team Canada. By the end of the Vancouver Games, the mittens were selling for triple their original price on sites like eBay.

With the rollout of the Sochi mittens, the committee launched a “Raise Your Hands” campaign for Team USA, by encouraging shoppers to purchase the “Go USA” mittens and share photos and video of themselves wearing them. Videos hashtagged #RaiseYourHands are eligible to be featured in sendoff video for American athletes headed to Sochi.

Sochi Games take place February 7-23, 2014

Get your mittens and support at –  http://www.teamusa.org

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