Reg Bailey

“ Parents responding to our Call for Evidence told us that they felt that retailers could do more to offer age—appropriate ranges of clothes. They said that they preferred children's clothes to be clearly age—appropriate and not simply scaled—down versions of adult fashion. ”

“ As a result, we found that the retailers contributing to the Review are careful to avoid stocking children's garments with suggestive slogans. If an adult fashion trend was seen as sexualised, such as the use of sheer materials or lace, when the trend was translated into children's clothes it is often done through designs that nod towards the adult fashion rather than by simply scaling down the clothes into children's sizes. For example, one retailer translated the adult fashion for lace leggings into opaque leggings with a lacy pattern printed on to them for their children's range. ”

“ We, therefore, have some sympathy with manufacturers and retailers of such clothing items as they are often in a difficult situation: they want to supply the perfectly normal and reasonable demand of parents and young people for such products, but in so doing risk often unreasonable criticism. ”

“ But retailers cannot be passive reflectors in children's products of adult fashion, or simply adopt an attitude of 'if customers don't like something they won't buy it'.They want to build the trust of customers so that they can maintain a long—lasting relationship with them. ”

“ Sexualised and gender-stereotyped clothing, products and services for children are the biggest areas of concern for parents and many non-commercial organisations contributing to the Review, with interest fanned by a sometimes prurient press. The issues are rarely clear-cut, with a fine balance on a number of points – taste, preference, choice, affordability, fashion and gender preferences. Retailers are aware of the issues and sensitivities and are responding.They need to be explicitly and systematically family friendly, from design and buying through to display and marketing. ”

“ The Review heard from retailers that the market for children's toys is a global one and that there is not a wide range of products for retailers to choose between.They suggested that they had little alternative other than to stock what will sell well, and that, indeed, customers looked for clear signals as to whether an item was intended for a boy or a girl. The Review heard consistently that retailers stocked pink items because they knew there was demand for them, and that if other colours were popular they would stock items in those colours too. ”

“ Since most attention is paid to the sexualisation of clothes for girls, it is important to be especially aware of girls’ physical development. Girls are, on average, reaching puberty at an earlier age now than ever before. ”

“ We need to see concerns about the premature sexualisation of children through inappropriate clothing and other products against this backdrop. Professor David Buckingham, in a book to be published in 2011, considers the issue of whether, as well as society being increasingly sexualised, this lowering of the age at which children reach physical and sexual maturity provides a biological driver towards them seeing their
potential as sexual beings at a younger age (Phoenix, 2011) . Sexualised products ”

“ That report also noted that concerns regarding gender stereotyping in the marketing and design of products for young children beg the question of whether gender stereotypes formed in early age are lasting, and in fact whether they might be developmentally necessary at that particular stage. The assessment goes on to highlight sociological research that suggests that the relationship between gender and consumer culture is more complex, and less easily understood in terms of simple ‘cause and effect’. ”

“ Views on clothing styles for children
55 per cent of parents surveyed thought that adult style clothes for children in shops encourage children to act older than they are. 45 per cent of parents surveyed thought that adult—style clothes for children put pressure on children to conform to a particular body shape and size. 48 per cent of the children surveyed agreed with the statement 'It's difficult to find clothes in the shops that I like and that my parents would allow me to wear'. Source:TNS Omnibus Survey, 2011 ”

“ We were selling at a rate of 15,000 sets per annum.The product is legally defined as a 'chemical experimentation set' but, unfortunately, 'science' still appeals to boys more than girls. Once we changed to predominantly pink packaging and marketed it as a craft activity, we were shocked to see consistent sales of 80,000 to 120,000 sets per annum ever since! Experience has taught us that the success or otherwise of a toy depends largely on the pack design communicating quickly to the consumer whether a toy is best suited to boys or to girls. ”

“ Some parents have raised concerns about sexualised imagery in window displays, such as displays of lingerie and explicitly sexualised clothing, the use of mannequins posed in sexually suggestive ways, or sexualised photography or images used as the backdrop to a window display. ”

“ Objections by parents in the Call for Evidence to the scaling down of adult styles often related to elements of design with close associations to adult sexuality, such as short skirts, shoes with heels, the use of suggestive slogans, ‘adult’ or sex industry branding, black lace, diamanté, animal prints and low necklines.We can see how such design details could be found inappropriate.All the retailers we spoke to during the course of the Review were aware of such sensitivities and usually very deliberately steered away from including such details in their own ranges. ”

“ During the Review, we spent a lot of time talking with retailers about the sale of bras and swimwear for children, and were reassured that businesses are generally applying common sense when designing and selling these items.
CASE STUDY: THE DESIGN AND RETAIL OF FIRST AND TRAINER BRAS
Children develop at different ages and rates. In the UK, girls can now expect to reach puberty around their tenth birthday, and there are some who will need a first bra before then. ”