The department store chain John Lewis has become the first UK retailer to git rid of ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ labels from its children’s clothing.
Clothes originally marketed by gender, including dresses and skirts, will now be labelled for “Girls & Boys” or “Boys & Girls” to avoid ‘reinforcing gender stereotypes’.
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They has also removed the separate sections for girls and boys in stores.
The move has been praised by campaign groups, but criticised by others threatening to boycott the chain.
The Independent reports:
School uniform is the only type of clothing that has not yet been switched, but it will do soon.
The clothing style hasn’t changed – you’ll still find floral dresses and skirts, but the retailer is simply proving the point that they can be worn by both girls and boys.
They’ve also launched a new unisex clothing line for children, featuring dinosaur print dresses and spaceship tops.
Caroline Bettis, the head of childrenswear at John Lewis, said: “We do not want to reinforce gender stereotypes within our John Lewis collections and instead want to provide greater choice and variety to our customers, so that the parent or child can choose what they would like to wear.”
The John Lewis website still includes boys and girls sections, but this is currently under review and likely to be brought in line with stores.
Niamh Harris
I wont be buying john lewis clothes.