Parents spend over £2,000 on children’s clothing by the time their little one turns three. But with kids outgrowing their clothes so quickly, much of this money – and the garments themselves – is wasted. Enter Petit Pli, a range of clothing designed to grow as a child does. We explore the insight behind Petit Pli’s innovative kids clothing line.
Designed by Royal College of Art graduate Ryan Mario Yasin, Petit Pli is a range of gender-neutral kids’ clothing designed to grow with the child as they get older. The origami-inspired material expands to fit babies and toddlers alike, and it’s hoped that the collection can help parents reduce consumption and waste. Although still under development, Yasin has won the James Dyson award – a global award celebrating inspirational engineering design – for Petit Pli.
Global spending on childrenswear is set to reach $291.5 billion by 2018, but since kids go through seven clothes sizes before they are two, items are quickly replaced. Research from Aviva has found that parents spend £2,088 on clothing for their kids by the time they’re three, which makes for a lot of wasted money and material.
“We seem to go through his clothes constantly,” says Anna Newell Jones, a blogger and mum to a five-month old son, talking of how much money is wasted on baby clothes that are barely worn. “Just as soon as we pull out a new size of clothes we're putting others away, and he doesn't even wear most of the items!” Petit Pli is offering parents a more sustainable – and affordable – alternative to the fast fashion brands that dominate the clothing industry, aiming to win parents over with its focus on longevity.
Hannah Elderfield is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8, which specialises in behavioural insights and consumer research, who has worked with global clients including BelVita, the UK Government, the FCO, Depend and Superbrands. Outside of work, she can be found shopping, walking her dog or attempting to curb her addiction to Nutella, not all at once of course.
