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Designer
brands, such as Nike, Gap or even Virgin, are a major aspect of modern
life. Often the brands are global names. But why do some people think
that
brands are important, while others could
not care
less about them?
Here
a group of British teenagers talk
about the importance
of designer brands.
MIKE:
Yes, I think that brands
are quite important. When I buy
clothes, I tend to go for good
brands, like Nike or Gap,
'cos you know they're good
quality.
TESSA:
Well I think that's stupid, I really do. The only time I ever buy Nike
or things like that is in the sales,
when they're going cheap.
Otherwise, designer brands are a complete rip-off
as far
as I'm concerned. I can't afford
to pay twice as much as
I need to, just to have Nike or CK. It's a total waste of money!
MIKE:
But it isn't,
is it?
I mean, you know you're getting good quality if you buy a well-known
brand.
TESSA:
Maybe, but that doesn't mean the opposite's true,
does it?I mean,
when you
buy a Nike baseball cap or something, you're really paying about thirty
quid just
to wear the logo! You can get perfectly good quality for half the price
without wasting your money on designer stuff, can't
you?
MIKE:
Sometimes, yeah; but you can't be sure, can
you? I mean, if you buy a pair of Nike trainers, you know
you've
got a good pair of shoes, and everyone else knows it too.
TESSA:
Do they? I think that's just silly! Frankly, I don't go
round looking
to see what
shoes
people have got on; and I certainly wouldn't judge a
person by their
clothes.
SARAH:
It's
not a matter of judging people by their clothes.
But I think, like,
you feel better if you know you've got good clothes on.
Not necessarily things like Gap, but anything with a reasonably good
label..
I mean, lots of people wouldn't
be seen dead wearing stuff from Littlewoods
or Marks &
Sparks — it's just so un-cool.
MIKE:
Yeah, it's all about image,
isn't it?
TESSA:
Exactly, you've
hit
the nail on the head,haven't
you? It's just image. I mean, you buy designer brands just
because
of the image. Not for any real reason at all. Just image, or
imagination.
You imagine people think more of
you 'cos you're wearing
Armani jeans or something like that.
MIKE:
Well they do. That's why people wear them, isn't
it? I mean, when you go anywhere, people judge you by what
they
can see, don't they? If you're wearing crap
clothes, no one's
going to think much of you at all!
TOM:
I think you're missing the point there, Mike; after all it's not a
question
of choosing between designer clothes and crappy
clothes,
it's a matter of choosing between good expensive clothes with a posh
label, and cheaper good clothes without one. You can perfectly well
wear
good clothes that don't have some fancy
name. I mean, look
at me?
Are you going to look down on me,
'cos there aren't any trendy
labels on any of my gear?
SARAH:
No, not really, but if you had on a Calvin Klein sweatshirt or
something,
I might think you were cooler.
TOM:
Oh that's really gross!
TESSA:
I call it juvenile.
SARAH:
But it isn't! Like Tom said, people do judge you by what they see, and
if they see you're wearing good clothes, they'll be more likely to get
a good impression of you.
TOM:
But the things I'm wearing are perfectly good, aren't
they?
SARAH:
They're O.K?..
TOM:
They're perfectly good, and good quality too. I can't see what makes
Mike's
sweatshirt any better than mine, just 'cos it's got GAP
written on
it. Besides, half of
designer
branded stuff is made using sweatshop labour
in Asia. You know there's kids often
years old working in factories
in places like Cambodia, making cheap designer stuff for famous
brands.
There was a documentary on TV the other day.
TESSA:
Yes, like, you buy a pair of super trainers for £100 here,
and the
people who actually made them were being paid 50p an hour or something.
Your posh expensive trainers really cost about £5 to make.
It's no
wonder that big fashion companies can
afford all their expensive
advertising, no wonder their bosses are millionaires.
SARAH:
Yeah, maybe, but it's the same for everything, isn't
it? It isn't just the big names that are exploiting people
in poor countries,is
it? They're all doing it. I mean look at your shoes, Tom.
Where
were they made?
TOM:
I haven't a clue.
SARAH:
No, so how do you know they weren't made using child labour too? You
don't, do
you?
TOM:
No: but even so,
two wrongs
don't make a right. And it doesn't make any difference to
the fact
that lots of designer brands use sweatshop labour in Asia, does
it?
MIKE:
Frankly, I don't see what I can do about it, since you can't go round
asking where
everything you buy was made?.
It's just not practical. And wherever they're made, I still like
wearing
good clothes. I don't feel good in crap outfits
SARAH:
Nor me neither.
WORDS:
Brand:
designer name - can't
afford to:
don't have enough money for -'cos:
because - could not
care less: are not at all
interested -crap,
crappy:
poor quality - factory:
industrial building - fancy:
posh - gear:
clothes, equipment - go
for:
prefer - go
round looking:
spend time looking - gross:
bad, awful - it's
not a matter of:
it's not a question of -
Littlewoods & Marks & Sparks:
Littlewoods and Marks & Spencer, two famous British clothes
shops - look
down on:
have a poor opionon of - no
wonder that:
not surprising that - posh:
high class - quid:
pounds - rip-off:
extorsion (French: arnaque) - sales:
when shops sell articles cheaper than usual - stuff:
things -
sweatshoplabour:
people working in very bad intensive conditions - they'll
be more likely to:
they will more probably - think
more of:
have a better impression of - trendy:
fashionable, popular.
Note:
pay particular attention to the phrases and expressions highlighted
in blue. |
Are
you a "brand slave"?