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ExplainWhat can I actually afford?
Long ago, King Hadrian discussed with a wise man named Epictetus how to know what you need versus what you want. Self-control, good intentions, and staying strong in challenging times might help. How do you know what you really need?
Oliver Twist, Heidi, and Harry Potter show how to focus on the essentials, even in tough times. Who inspires your spending?
Parents invest in kids’ education for their future, even if they don’t always want to go. Ever thought about what your family spends on it—what they might be giving up?
“As consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy”
Emma Watson, British actress who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter films.
What can you learn from old ads?
Noticed these ad-tricks?
Using words like “premium” or “eco-friendly” to highlight special qualities, making products seem more valuable or sustainable
Showing kids, their families or celebrities happily enjoying the benefits of the product(s)
Using bright colors, fun designs or labels like “for girls” or “for soccer fans”
Showing a high price next to a sale price makes people think they’re saving money.
Bundle deals like “3 for 2” seem like a better bargain
Using labels like “today only” or “only a few items left” to make you feel you need to buy now
Indicating that part of the price will be donated to help poor children buy school supplies
What sells to kids?
A school boy from Kenya is almost late when he finds lion cubs playing with one of his “Toughee” Bata shoes. He retrieves his shoe and heads to school, looking back at the cubs with a victorious smile. The ad ends with the tagline “Made strong to last long.” How would you advertise shoes for children?
“Bad” ads
Ads shouldn’t take advantage of kids’ trust or inexperience. They also shouldn’t encourage things that aren’t safe, like buying things you can’t afford or products that could harm your health.
Appropriate content
Fair advertising shows content that is appropriate for the age of the kids it is targeting. Kids’ ads shouldn’t show inappropriate things, like making kids look like sexy adults or claiming that only boys or girls can play with certain toys.
Respectful
Ads have to follow rules to make sure they don’t suggest that certain products are only for boys, girls, or people from a certain background. These rules help everyone feel included and make sure ads are fair and respectful to everyone.
How do you spend money well?
When school starts, families spend a lot on clothes, supplies, and gadgets. In the US, they spent about $586 per child in 2023! On average, 40.3% was spent on clothes, 27.3% on electronics, and 20.3% on supplies. How does your family plan these buys? Learn to budget by planning your shopping, comparing prices, and checking product features like materials and origin.
Planning
As the school year approaches, you may need to update your wardrobe and buy new electronics, books, and supplies. Plan and organize by making a detailed shopping list. Schools or local governments often provide recommendations to help you list the essentials
Smart spending
Back-to-school shopping can be expensive. Set a budget to manage your money wisely. Compare prices in stores and online to find the best deals. Stick to your shopping list and focus on what you need first. Make sure your budget covers the basics. If you need extra help, look for organizations that help families with back-to-school shopping.
Who decides?
When choosing clothes for school, you may be influenced by trends, advertisements, and what your friends are wearing. It's important to know the difference between what others say and what you like, what fits your style, and what you can afford. Your parents, school rules, and budget will also help determine what you can buy.
Shopping tips
Repair, reuse and recycle
Being a sustainable consumer means making choices that are good for the environment. You can help limit clothing waste by buying fewer, high-quality items, choosing second-hand or recycled clothes, and donating or recycling old garments instead of throwing them away. Little things you do can make a big difference!
Made to grow
During World War II, money and clothes were scarce. Your great-grandparents had to make their school uniforms last for years. They chose strong materials that resisted dirt and wear. They also adapted the uniforms as they grew. This saved money, helped with the shortage of clothes, and was a way of recycling!
(Re)use old clothes
By buying and donating used school uniforms, you help the planet by reducing waste. It saves money, so you can spend on other stuff. Plus, it feels great to know your old clothes are helping someone else!
Stop textile waste
Textile waste is a big environmental problem. By reusing or recycling second-hand school clothes and supplies, you help reduce waste and save resources. Plus, it is budget-friendly for families!
How does “fast fashion” hurt the environment?
Gatis Sluka’s cartoon shows how “fast fashion” hurts the environment. On it we see a big pile of discarded clothes in a landfill. The cartoon urges everyone to recycle and reuse to reduce waste.
Join a “uniform-bank”
By donating, selling, or buying “preloved” school clothes, you help clothes last longer and get used by more kids. Second-hand shops, clothing banks and online sites like Uniformerly, Uniformis, and Grown Out Of It also offer cheaper options and reduce textile waste.
Eco-friendly school supplies
Back-to-school supplies made from recycled, eco-friendly materials, like these pencils, are becoming more popular. How do you feel about using eco-friendly or recycled items?
Rags become art
Michael Gah, an artist from Ghana, uses colorful fabric scraps from landfills to create art. His work shows how we can turn textile waste into something beautiful. Could you imagine making art with your old clothes? What would you make?
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EngageDifficulty
Easy
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Learning objectives
Based on Curriculum 21, German-speaking Switzerland, 2024.
The students ...
NMG 6.5 for 9+
d) Can examine changes in consumption habits using examples and demonstrate effects on everyday life (e.g., school supplies).
g) Can examine consumption choices through examples, taking into account financial resources, and discuss alternatives for meeting needs (e.g., make it yourself, get a grant to cover the cost of school uniforms and/or supplies).
WAH.3.1 for 12+
a) Can compare lifestyles and describe similarities and differences (e.g., ownership, habits, resource consumption, handling of freedom of choice, values). Understands ideas around prosperity, lifestyles, life concepts.
b) Can recognize and name different influences on the design of everyday items and reflect on their significance for their own consumption (e.g., market offerings, financial resources, media, social environment).
c) Can reflect on selected marketing strategies for consumer goods and discuss their influence on consumption decisions (e.g., advertising and sales strategies, brands).
Bibliography
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Marketing- und Werbekompetenz
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Verbraucher- und Kinderschutz
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Handsley, E., & Duke, A. (2019). Protecting the child consumer from misleading advertising: A comparison of media regulation and consumer protection approaches.
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Finanzielle Bildung für Kinder
Agnew, S., & Cameron‐Agnew, T. (2015). The influence of consumer socialisation in the home on gender differences in financial literacy. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(6), 630-638.
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Bottazzi, L., & Lusardi, A. (2021). Stereotypes in financial literacy: Evidence from PISA. Journal of Corporate Finance, 71, 101831.
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Einkaufen für die Schule
Barnes, K., & Brounstein, J. (2022, November 4). The pink tax: Why do women pay more? Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4269217 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4269217
Brand, A., & Gross, T. (2020). Paying the pink tax on a blue dress - Exploring gender-based price-premiums in fashion recommendations. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS-12481, 190-198. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64266-2_12
Habbal, H. L. (2020). An economic analysis of the pink tax. Senior Theses.
Morris, R. V., & Shockley, D. (2022). School supplies and financial literacy for families in poverty. Childhood Education, 98(1), 58-63.
Penne, T., Delanghe, H., & Goedemé, T. (2021). An exploration of key factors that determine the affordability of compulsory education in Europe.
Nachhaltige Einkaufspraktiken
Bravo, L. (2020). How to break up with fast fashion: A guilt-free guide to changing the way you shop–for good. Hachette UK.
Brooks, A. (2019). Clothing poverty: The hidden world of fast fashion and second-hand clothes. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Claudio, L. (2007). Waste couture: Environmental impact of the clothing industry. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115(9), A448-A454.
Lemire, B. (2000). Second-hand beaux and ‘red-armed belles’: Conflict and the creation of fashions in England, c. 1660–1800. Continuity and Change, 15(3), 391-417.
McRobbie, A. (1989). Second-hand dresses and the role of the ragmarket. In Zoot suits and second-hand dresses: An anthology of fashion and music (pp. 23-49). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Richmond, V. (2013). Clothing the poor in nineteenth-century England. Cambridge University Press.
Stobart, J., & Van Damme, I. (Eds.). (2010). Modernity and the second-hand trade: European consumption cultures and practices, 1700-1900. Springer
Fernsehen für Kinder
Brunick, Kaitlin L., Marisa M. Putnam, Lauren E. McGarry, Melissa N. Richards, and Sandra L. Calvert. 2016. «Children’s Future Parasocial Relationships with Media Characters: The Age of Intelligent Characters». Journal of Children and Media 10 (2): 181–90. https://doi.org/10 .1080/17482798.2015.1127839
Kearney, M.S; Levine, P.B: Early Childhood Education by Television: Lessons from Sesame Street.American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2019, 11(1): 318–350 https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20170300
Lemish, D. (2022). The Routledge International Handbook of Children, Adolescents, and Media (Second edition). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003118824
Strandgaard Jensen, H. (2023). Sesame Street : a transnational history. Oxford University Press.
Copyright and licenses
Images in the quizzes
1960s USA Pancakes Magazine Advert by Retro AdArchives via Alamy Stock Foto, Copyright
CALIFORNIA-SANTA CRUZ - NARA – 543218, 1972 – 1977 via National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain
Advertising poster of “Medok” cigarettes. Leningrad Tabtrest, 1925, Alexander Zelensky, Russian State Library via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
1908 King Air Rifle ad - "Every live, healthy boy wants a 'King' AirRifle. It's boy nature to want a gun..." by adsR via Alamy Stock Photo, Copyright
1950s UK Lego Magazine Advert by Retro AdArchives via Alamy Stock Photo, Copyright
Petit négro culottes sous-vêtements en fil durable (advertising poster with illustration by J.Berger). Buvard publicitaire. Petit Négro. ca. 1955, Musée National de l'Éducation, Réseau Canopé, CC-BY-NC-ND
Newball & Maurer Wine Essences - Refreshing as the fruit itself a sixpenny bottle makes a gallon of delicious wine by The History of Advertising Trust Archive/Heritage-Images via Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Foto, Copyright
Richters Anker stone building set, print (framed) & poster chromolithograph, 1910, by Scheurich , P. (Creator) & Hollerbaum u. Schmidt (Print) at Spielzeugmuseum Nürnberg, via europeana.eu, CC-BY-NC-SA
An advertisement for Happy Monkey smoothies and milk shakes made for kids, 2023, Sainsbury's Magazine, via SJAdvertArchive / Alamy Stock Photo, Copyright
UNDEROOS underwear ad- DC VS MARVEL - Spiderman vs Wonder Woman themed, 1981 by adsR via Alamy Stock Photo, Copyright
SPIRIT CIGARETTE NON PC ADVERTISING CHILD BOY Vintage, 1950 by Shawshots via Alamy Stock Foto, Copyright
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