Business
Sweaty Betty offered Middlesbrough trainer £4k for slogan use and silence
Stuart Whincup and
Tom Burgess,North East and Cumbria
BBCA personal trainer has revealed women’s activewear brand Sweaty Betty offered her a settlement of £4,000 over a disputed slogan if she agreed not to further challenge the firm’s use of it, and agreed to keep the deal confidential.
Georgina Cox, from Middlesbrough, said the company used the “Wear The Damn Shorts” phrase from her Instagram posts without crediting her in its latest campaign.
She had used the slogan, and others like it, in a number of posts encouraging women to wear what they wanted, regardless of body shape, before being contacted by the firm, she said.
Sweaty Betty said it “respectfully disagreed” with her claims and said the slogan had been part of its campaign for three years.
A company spokesperson said: “We have offered and continue to offer to meet with Ms Cox as we remain committed to resolving this matter constructively and reaching a fair and amicable resolution.”
The fitness trainer said she came up with the slogan for her younger sister in 2020 and the words quickly went viral.
In 2023, she was approached by a Sweaty Betty marketing executive, who said the firm was planning a campaign “with similar messaging as your Wear the Damn Shorts post a few years ago” and asking if she was happy for it to do so.
Georgina CoxMs Cox was subsequently paid £3,500 to promote the campaign in social media posts.
The company contacted her again the following year before its new campaign, but did not do so before the third year, she said.
“The third year they just omitted me completely, I didn’t know it was happening,” she said.
“I was so hurt in that moment because nobody had reached out to me.
“They’re meant to care about women, they’re meant to support them and empower them, and I’ve never felt less empowered than I have this year.”
Ms Cox’s lawyer sent the company a legal “cease and desist” letter, asking that it stop using the phrase, but she said the response described her as “bitter”.
She had also been threatened with legal action for defamation after posting about the situation online, she said.
Georgina CoxMs Cox said she had been “terrified” and the stress had affected her physically and mentally.
“They are such a big company and I am just one woman and to be threatened by them is incredibly scary,” she said.
The fitness influencer said she had not been sleeping, her hair was falling out and she was having panic attacks.
She wanted an apology from the company and a pledge from them to pay the influencers they work with, such as her, fairly, she said.
In correspondence with Ms Cox, Sweaty Betty said it was willing to offer £4,000 as a final settlement, provided she agreed the firm would continue to use the slogan, she would not challenge this use, she would not make any public statements about the firm, and the terms of this settlement would be confidential.
The company said: “We have great respect for the community Ms Cox has built around body confidence and empowerment, and were surprised and saddened to find ourselves in this situation.
“‘Wear the Damn Shorts’ has been part of our campaign for three years, and we chose it because it perfectly captures what Sweaty Betty stands for.
“While none of us has exclusive legal rights to this phrase, we have always aimed to respect Ms Cox’s association with it.
“Since she first raised her concerns earlier this year, we’ve been in regular contact.”
GST collections: India’s net Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections increased to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in March 2026, marking a rise of 8.2% compared to the previous month, according to official figures released on Wednesday.Gross GST revenue for March stood at Rs 2 lakh crore, which is an 8.8% increase over the same month last year.Abhishek Jain, Indirect Tax Head & Partner, KPMG says, “GST collections continue to show steady 9% annual growth, supported by strong import activity this month and consistent compliance. While export refunds have eased this month but remain healthy overall for the year”Refunds during the month totalled Rs 0.22 lakh crore, up 13.8% on a year-on-year basis, which resulted in net GST collections of Rs 1.78 lakh crore.Domestic GST revenue reached Rs 1.46 lakh crore, registering a growth of 5.9%, while revenue from imports was recorded at Rs 0.54 lakh crore, rising sharply by 17.8% during the period.Post-settlement GST figures across states presented a varied trend. While industrially advanced states recorded strong growth, several others reported a decline.Maharashtra contributed the highest amount to the overall collections at Rs 0.13 lakh crore on a pre-settlement basis, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat.Among states showing an increase in post-settlement SGST collections were Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, among others.On the other hand, states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, among others, registered a decline in post-settlement SGST revenues.
A wave of bullishness swept the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, pushing the 100 Index up by more than 5,000 points to reach 153,700.
The surge reflects increased investor confidence and strong trading activity across major sectors.
Business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers rose from 16 to 17 in March, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly survey released on Wednesday.
The improvement in the so-called diffusion index in the closely watched “tankan” report, recorded for the fourth quarter straight, comes even as worries grow about Japan’s economic growth and oil supplies because of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The survey is an indicator of companies foreseeing good conditions minus those feeling pessimistic.
The index for large non-manufacturers, such as the service sector, stood unchanged from the last tankan at 36.
Japan’s inflation has so far remained relatively moderate, but worries are growing about prices at the gas stands and other products. Investors and consumers alike are filled with uncertainty about how much longer the war may last and what US president Donald Trump might say next. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 has gyrated wildly in recent weeks.
Analysts say the Bank of Japan may start to raise interest rates because of concerns about inflation, given the soaring energy costs and declining yen, two elements that greatly affect living costs for the average Japanese consumer.
Historically, Japan has benefited from a weak yen because of its giant exports, exemplified in autos and electronics. A weak yen raises the value of exports’ earnings when converted into yen.
But in recent years, a weak yen is working as a negative, as resource-poor Japan imports much of its energy, as well as other key products such as food and manufacturing components.
The US dollar has been soaring against the yen lately.
Japan’s central bank had a negative interest rate policy for years to fight deflation until it normalised policy in 2024. It kept the rate unchanged at 0.75 per cent in March. The next Bank of Japan monetary policy board meeting is set for April 27 and 28.
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