4. “If you got a whole gang of people
wearing Lacoste, then you don’t
wanna rock up in Reebok.”
14 year old girl
Isaksen, 2010
5. “The Chloe gang likes expensive
things … they think they are the best!
They say – I’m the best, I’m better
than you and I have expensive
things… They have real Uggs!”
Girl age 12
Unicef UK, 2011
6. “I’ve seen kids get bullied because
they have a brick for a
mobile phone.”
teenage girl
Children’s Commissioner and Amplify, 2011
7. “Yeah, if you came in plain white trainers
you’re more likely to get bullied …
…. like they think you’re poor.”
15 year old boy
Isaksen, 2010
8. Why are young people under
pressure to buy expensive brands?
“Because everyone else seems to have
them and none of us want to look poor”
15 year old girls
“Anything to prove you’ve got
money.”
Children’s Commissioner and Amplify, 2011
9. “My eldest’s school shoes and coat were
bought out of us worrying that he may be
bullied if it wasn’t the right look.”
UK parents under pressure
Bailey Review, 2011
10. “I got it because it looked
expensive”
UK mum of 3 year old
Unicef UK, 2011
11. “What you own symbolises your
family’s income.”
Children’s Commissioner and Amplify, 2011
19. It’s isn’t just about items, it’s
everything: the way you look, the way
you act - whatever celebrities,
magazines tell you to wear, it has to
be bought … at any price – Jack Wills,
Abercrombie, Hollister, iPods/iPads,
Uggs, anything that is fashionable.”
male 17
Children’s Commissioner and Amplify, 2011
20. “I get sucked into marketing…but
then the same could be said about
my parents”.
Male 14
Children’s Commissioner and Amplify, 2011
22. 22% of UK population is in poverty
13.5 m people
29% of children are in families in poverty
3.8m children
UK Poverty
Child Poverty Action Group, 2012
23.
24.
25. Unicef Report Card 7 placed the UK bottom of the
21 most industrialised nations for
Child Well-being
Public and Government
were clearly alarmed
What’s behind statistics?
2007
28. “I never want my
kids to get slagged
for their trainers.”
“We don’t buy brands
at home … it’s about
principles.”
“We buy expensive
ski clothes so the
kids don’t get cold.”
Unicef UK, 2011
29. Sweden
Equality starts
in the home
Outdoor activities
woven into the
Materialism is family’s everyday
functional routines
rather than
symbolic
30. Spain
Activities are an
important part of
growing up in Spain
Parents were less ‘Family time’ is a
materialistic in Spain priority across social
groups, including
extended family
31. UK
Families less involved
with children’s
activities outside the
home
Children bought
stuff to mask
poverty and
compensate
for lack of Everyday time
family time between parents
and children is
limited and
stressed
32. Inequality
Materialism
Well-being
are inextricably linked
in fabric of UK family life
33. “You can live in a dustbin but as long as you’ve got
a Blackberry, an iPod you’re accepted.”
Vision for the Future?
34. 4 Live Interlinked Issues
1. Curbing the Power of Brands and
Advertising
2. Tackling Inequality
3. Challenging our Work Culture
4. Making Free (in both senses) Time for
Families
