Bonds releases a ‘genderless’ clothing line after pressure on top brands to stop selling ‘male and female’ clothes – but would you buy it?
- The clothes are part of the new Bonds Explorer range, launched on Saturday
- Items include tracksuits pants, hoodies, jumpers and T-shirts with a neutral fit
- The unisex line was created to allow customers to wear the clothes ‘their way’
Bonds has released a line of ‘genderless’ clothing as activists pressure brands to stop selling separate items for men and women.
The garments are part of the brand’s new Explorer range which was launched on Saturday under the slogan ‘comfort for all’.
Items include tracksuits pants, hoodies, jumpers and T-shirts with a neutral fit to suit any gender, and can be bought in green, brown, black, white and grey.
Bonds said the unisex line was created to allow customers to pick and choose what they want from the collection and ‘wear it their way’.
Pictured: Samples from the new Bonds Explorer range, which features unisex clothes in neutral colours
A Bonds spokesperson said the brand hopes the new line helps people feel comfortable
‘We recognise that the future is ‘genderful’ and want to allow our customers to express their gender and identity in whichever way is most comfortable,’ the company told 9Honey.
‘As a brand for all Australians, we think it’s important to make everyone feel comfortable – and that starts with the first thing you put on in the morning.’
Each item is on sale for around $49, down from the original $79.99 price, and follows the brand’s commitment to inclusivity and using recycled materials.
Bonds’ website description reads: ‘It’s a wild world out there, so this genderless pullover is tough enough to unleash the wild within.’
Bonds also released a genderless line for tweens in 2018.
Australian companies face increasing pressure from activists to do away with gendered clothes who claim they are being stereotyped by major retailers.
In May, furious parents wrote a petition to Kmart to stop classifying children’s clothing by gender.
‘Young children are told which colours, clothing styles and even interests they are permitted to have through the choices they have available in their respective gender’s clothing department,’ the petition read.
Campaign ads for the Bonds Explorer range say: No matter who you are, where you’re from or what you stand for, we believe everybody deserves to be comfy’
Bonds also released a genderless line for tweens in 2018. Pictured: Tracksuit pants and hoodies in the new Explorer range
‘Many parents of young boys will tell you their son loves pink, rainbows and flowers but simply cannot wear clothes in these styles like girls do without taking them from the girls’ section, which sends them a strong message that the things they like are “wrong”.’
The petition called for the major retailer to remove the ‘arbitrary boundaries’ of the ‘gender separated clothing sections’.
In the same month, a number of small businesses made headlines for creating whole business models around gender-neutral clothes.
Gold Coast mum Renee Schmidt founded kids streetwear brand called ‘five&knux’ so that parents don’t have to buy different sets of clothes for their sons and daughters.
Internationally, American retailer Guess launched a ‘his & hers’ line of unisex jeans, jackets T-shirts to help ‘anyone to express themselves ‘while feeling ‘confident and sexy’.