A Los Angeles cannabis-linked company is under fire after its logo-covered camping tents started popping up in Skid Row this week, blurring the line between charity and marketing in a neighborhood already overwhelmed by homelessness.
Branded tents spotted on Skid Row
People walking and living around 4th Street and San Pedro reported seeing multiple tents stamped with logos for Terp Science Labs and Daily High Club, with observers saying more than 500 tents were handed out to unhoused residents. One local on the ground told reporters they counted at least five branded tents on a single walk through the area. As slammed the branded tent giveaway, the tents were visible near 4th and San Pedro in downtown Los Angeles.
Who is behind the giveaway
The tents are linked to Terp Science Labs, a Los Angeles terpene manufacturer that lists a downtown presence online. According to public filings, the tents also carry branding for Daily High Club, the smoking-supplies company acquired in 2021 in a deal that involved roughly $6.75 million in stock and $3.25 million in cash. Terp Science Labs appears in local business directories, and the acquisition details are laid out in an SEC filing.
Local context: Homelessness trends in L.A.
The timing is touchy. The giveaway landed as the city wrestles with rising homelessness numbers. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2026 point-in-time count shows the City of Los Angeles recorded about a 3.4% increase in people experiencing homelessness this year. LAHSA’s recent summary places those numbers in the larger story of a region still trying, and often struggling, to turn big spending and new programs into long-term housing. Against that backdrop, some neighbors say tents splashed with corporate logos feel especially tone-deaf.
Why critics say the stunt crossed a line
Advocates and residents argue that handing out logoed tents risks turning basic survival gear into rolling advertisements and could complicate coordinated relief work or public-safety responses. The uproar taps into broader questions about how Los Angeles spends hundreds of millions of public dollars on homelessness, which LAist and other local budget trackers note has become one of the city’s most heated political debates. Critics say private corporate gestures, however well intentioned, should not be allowed to stand in for transparent public policy and real investments in housing.
Company response and next steps
In a statement to defend the company’s intentions, Terp Science Labs’ managing partner said there was “no malicious intent” and that the effort was meant to help the community. The company also told reporters it plans to hand out an additional 500 tents in October. So far, the explanation has not settled the backlash from observers who want clearer rules for how companies engage in street-level aid.
For now, the branded tents remain a flashpoint on Skid Row, drawing fresh scrutiny of how private players choose to “help” and fueling renewed calls for a more coordinated, accountable system that gets Angelenos out of tents altogether and into stable housing.
