How Today’s Slogan Tees are Empowering Kids
Empowering slogan tees that promote mindfulness, self-confidence, and eco-awareness are the latest addition to the children’s fashion agenda.
We follow the evolution of the most basic yet incredibly socially and culturally embedded fashion item, and its power to instil positive values in the future of tomorrow.
More than just a T-shirt
The T-shirt was first invented in 1898 by labourers looking to transform the winter-snug jumpsuit into a summer-readysleeveless garment. Initially worn as an undergarment for many years, it soon became a US Navy statement. The “strength and virility” it excluded turned it into an attractive form of expression, and Marlon Brando and James Dean were the first to assert it as a stand-alone outerwear piece.
But it wasn’t until the ‘70s that the T-shirt became “the medium for a message”, as described by the New York Times in a 1973 article, following the rise of T-shirt printing. In a spree of music fandom, sorority belonging, and rebellious movements in the likes of the hippie revolution of the 1960s, the T-shirt has served as a tool for social and personal expression.
“It’s a nonfashion,” says Anne Drew Fox, a T-shirts designer. “All it does is cover you. What’s interesting about it is the message it communicates.”
Children’s Tees reinforce ‘peace and love’
Throughout the years, many garments have become a part ofsocial and cultural events. Consumers are buying not only the product but also the story of identity behind it.
Parents are also chiming in on the T-shirt trends. Since slogan T-shirts have such a vital role in reinforcing self-expression and identity, they are looking to buy empowering T-shirts for their children.
What is currently trending is the revival of the 1960s ‘peace and love’ movement. We see it in the ‘Peace is power’, ‘Increase peace’, or simply ‘Love’ girls’ long sleeve topslogans. Either plain or embedded in colourful designs, peace slogan tees have become a talisman for a much-coveted olden days and a desire for a brighter future. They’re teaching our children two very important values: peace and love.
While we might not have sustained the elation from the Summer of ‘69, the rising mindfulness movement is encouraging our moral grassroots, a.k.a. our children. ‘Kindness’, ‘Thankful’, and ‘Positive energy’ are not only well-being staples but also popular kids T-shirt slogans. Empowering new-age sayings such as ‘Your vibe attracts your tribe’ become trendy slogans like ‘Kind people are my kinda people’ in the children’s collection.
Fashion designers are also aiming to introduce children to the vast world of endless possibilities and foster a positive, empowered identity. Slogans that fashion this cause include ‘Explore the Universe’ and ‘You are limitless’.
Gen Z is fashioning the sustainability movement
The mindfulness and new-age spirituality movement goes hand in hand with the rising eco-awareness. How can we practice gratitude if our planet is extinct?
In response to the pressing climate crisis, the whole world is riding the sustainability wagon and looking for ways to disseminate the message of the era. Fashion is definitely not falling behind.
The industry is taking a big leap towards revolutionising its production methods. Not only that but it’s using its popularity to get more people on board so that we can save the planet.
One such tool is children’s slogan tees that promote eco-friendly messages, such as ‘Love the planet’, ‘Protect our forest’, and ‘No more waste’. Think of it as a free advertorial of sustainability. Even if the slogan is not the primary reason for the purchase, it is subconsciously instilling an eco-mindset.
Fashion brands that manufacture children’s eco-promotional clothes that are also sustainably sourced, produced, and distributed are driving the movement. They are following generational leaders like Greta Thunberg – the 18-year-old environmental activist who is challenging world leaders to act on climate change mitigation. Thunberg is the ultimate epitome of Generation Z.
Aged between 9 and 24, these young people are born into a decaying world, and it is in their best interest to drive the sustainability agenda. For them, an empowering T-shirt will go a long way.
The fashion industry’s incredible demand is the ideal outlet for fostering a positive global change. It’s our choice to shop from sustainable brands that empower our children and encourage moral messages.
Sources
https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3485619/
https://www.realthread.com/blog/history-of-the-tshirt
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49918719