No logo means no style, say students

"I don't mind if I haven't got logos on me, but you're not going to walk around in runners that aren't a proper brand, because you'll get called a cheapo," is the way secondary-school pupil Darren Fox describes the peer pressure to wear branded clothes.

If you have five stripes on your runners instead of the three associated with a famous sports brand, your friends will ask if the company sent you the extra two for free, according to the first-year student at St Vincent's CBS, Glasnevin.

Darren thinks it's "worth it" to spend extra money to get branded clothes - and most of his classmates agree.

"I don't wear anything without a name on it because it makes me feel confident when people say my clothes are nice," says schoolmate Graham Claxton.

"Anyway, you have to have the sports clothes when you're playing football," Tony Maher added.

These CBS boys are the prime targets of the No Logo campaign, a Green Party initiative launched yesterday to encourage students to consider the marketing and labour practices behind brands and to be less reliant on logos.

"On No Logo day, which will take place on April 10th, we are asking students to cover any logos with the 'no logo' badges which have been distributed to every secondary school in the country. In addition we have sent out educational packs outlining four action projects we hope the students will complete over the next six weeks," Green Party TD, Mr Eamon Ryan, said.

The boys in St Vincent's say they are aware of the issues surrounding logos, but don't want to give up their favourite brands. "I want to be able to look like everyone else. The only thing that annoys me is that Nike buys things really cheap and we have to buy them really dear," Karl O'Reilly said.

Christopher Hennessy said he doesn't think logos are important. "I don't mind what clothes I get but my mam sometimes just buys brands anyway."

Schoolmate Glen Adams wishes children didn't have to work in sweat shops for his clothes, but he says: "When you're going out you have to have the gear other kids have - people are very small-minded."

The boys didn't really see the point of having a No Logo day. however: "People might say you look more stupid with a sticker on your bag than a logo," David McGlynn said.