in my opinion

Has Peace Become a Brand Name?

By Nina Fogle

In retail originality is key, but walking through the mall I see one commonality across stores: symbols of peace.  From Victoria Secret’s Pink line to Skechers kids’ shoes, peace symbols are uniting the retail landscape.

On January 31, I conducted a survey of store managers in the Southcenter Mall in Kent, Washington. Out of the 62 retail clothing and shoe locations 62 percent sold goods with peace symbols or messages. That percentage increases dramatically to 76 percent in stores exclusively for kids and teens. Clearly America’s youth are being targeted with images of peace. In most youth-related retail locations, the majority of clothing, swimsuits, and shoes contained at least one peace symbol.
 
Undoubtedly images of peace are popular, but do these t-shirts and shoes promote a belief in peace? Or is the message of peace simply being diluted in the latest fashion trends? I believe it is the latter.

Despite the vast amount of peace messages in the marketplace, only eight percent of surveyed stores donated any proceeds to peace-related causes. Frankly, I was surprised any donated at all. In retail, peace has become a generic symbol to splash on graphic tees and handbags without thinking of promoting the true message behind the words.

Remember the “princess” shirts of 2002 and the Abercrombie and Fitch craze over the last decade? It appears that peace is just the latest fashion trend to come and go like all the others. In interviewing store employees, I found that peace clothing sales, though still high, have dropped since even last summer.  

I also conducted an internet survey to poll what young adults thought of peace in fashion. Of over 90 participants, an overwhelming 80.4 percent believe that peace is just a fashion trend.

As one Victoria’s Secret employee said, “it is not about peace, it’s all about the glitter.”