I am the father of two daughters, which means I am under constant scrutiny about what I wear. They don’t really care what I think, it’s all about if my clothing I wear makes them look good in public.
Heaven forbid I don’t look “cool”.
Because obviously I would embarrass them if their friends saw us together.
Christmas presents and birthday presents are always interesting because they usually have me receiving “trendy” clothing and merchandise. Often I have to look at my wife for her approving nod before I can show how excited I am about the gift. Lately, brand names like Volcom, Hurley, Ripcurl, adorn my closet and dresser drawers.
I will be honest; I don’t pull out my iPad and research the company mission statements for all the brand names I wear. I rely on my friends and fellow workers to keep me in the loop if a brand name represents something counter cultural to what I represent as a person.Every once in a while, a brand name surfaces and starts to be popular in our society.
Here is a brand that you may be interested in knowing more about…
Zumiez is a popular store in Langley that sells all kinds of current brand names merchandise. One line that they carry is called Crooks and Castles. 
Crooks and Castles market wallets, luggage, t-shirts, hats, and hoodies. If you didn’t know any better you could buy or maybe have already bought some of this apparel for your son or daughter. This company is blatant on promoting a lifestyle and worldview that is not congruent with our school and our school culture.
Here is what you may not know:
Crooks & Castles promotes a dark image, both in its designs and philosophy. Their mission statement posted on the official website explains that growing up in Los Angeles, living a “villainous lifestyle”, inspires the brand. Crooks & Castles’ designs reflect themes of violence and street hustling, emblazoned with depictions of gold chains, nude women, snakes and bandits, and slogans such as “Ain’t No Such Thing as Halfway Crooks.”
Here is their mission statement, go ahead, give it a read: http://crooksncastles.com/about-crooks/
Not all of their clothing and merchandise is “in your face” with negative concepts, some items have very cool graphics and trendy logos. However, the lingering question is, do you support what the company represents and what your money is supporting?
In our middle school we have decided that we do not support nor wish to promote this company, and consequently, have asked our students not to wear “Crooks & Castles” clothing and merchandise.
We are hoping that you can also help us by spreading the word and letting other parents know the back-story to what this company promotes.
I am aware that there are other companies that have bad practices, knock off designs and poor employee management — and these can be difficult to be identify or spot. However, when a company is blatant and upfront with their philosophy and story, then we need to also be upfront and blatant with our story, which is counter cultural to theirs.
What do you think? Do the brands that we sport say something about who we are? I know that I will be looking a little more closely at labels I choose to wear.
Maybe there are other brand names that we need to be aware of? You can help us out with a comment below about them.
Thanks Berkley, great post. It really is about the story we want to tell, among competing narratives. You’re right; if we wanted to, we could start questioning the business practices of most of the mainstream products we consume. But besides being impractical, it would take away from the other heart shaping practices in which we’re engaging the students.
That said, it’s good to be able to articulate the lines in the sand behind which we’ll stand, and about which we’ll use as teachable moments for our students.
I think it is good to cause the younger generation to engage with the idea of knowing who we are buying from and as a result, what are we supporting. If possible, buy local and support businesses that are making a positive difference in the world. One of the great companies we’ve found online is called “Sevenly” ( sevenly.org ) alot of great designs that are always fresh and for a good cause. I love that you are helping the younger generation find thier voice and something to stand for in a lay down, deaf, dumb and blind culture.
Wonderful post – thank you for sharing some of the background on this decision. These seemingly trivial steps move all of us toward making informed choices with our money, and actually represent cultural votes. I prefer to think of these purchases as small movements in a direction towards our larger meta-narrative, as opposed to drawing a line in the sand. While the inconvenience and perhaps even the impossibility of understanding the objectives of every business can lead to apathy, perhaps this is an opportunity for some great discussion and small but significant steps in a good direction. Thanks again for the signposts!