Mental health merch: conversation-changing or commodifying?
From bakeries to book shops, political parties and even individual authors, it has never been easier for consumers to flaunt their cultural allegiances through the clothes they wear. Now, a new category has entered the merchandise space: mental health.
Online sellers offer sweatshirts in soothing millennial pink with slogans such as “Mental Health Matters” or “Anxious But Doing It Anyways”. Others simply state the brand names of antidepressants. Bestsellers on Etsy include graphic T-shirts with “Depressed But Make It Hot” and “This Barbie Takes Prozac”.
Both high-street and high-end brands are getting involved. Streetwear favourite Praying sells a “You Matter Don’t Give Up” grey hoodie for £137 while Primark’s £7 “empowering” Tshirts include statements such as “Surround Yourself With People Who Bring
Good Vibes”. This week, Stella McCartney launched a limited-edition bag featuring words by the American poet Cleo Wade, “The ride is long but it leads you home”. It is part of a collaboration between the designer and the mental health advocate Deepak Chopra, championing equine therapy.
While the subject of mental health has historically been resigned to covert helplines and hushed doctors offices, it is now much more widely acknowledged and discussed. On TikTok the hashtag mental health has been viewed more than 114bn times, with users, some with millions of followers, documenting their “bad mental health days” and talking about therapy.
“This type of clothing can open up a conversation,” says psychologist Dr Audrey Tang. “In the same way a blue badge allows you to park in a disabled space, wearing these type of tops expresses and gives an insight to others about how you are feeling.”
“A lot of people cope with mental health issues through humour,” adds Sarah Russell, the founder of the Etsy store Grocery Apparel, which sells “Hot Girls Take Antidepressants” T-shirts, among others. “Having something silly like a T-shirt that makes it more relatable can make people realise they are not alone in dealing with it.”
Travis Baskin, who owns a brand called Own Your Stigma that sells sweatshirts with the slogans “Coffee, Dogs and Mental Health” and “I Feel All The Feels”, says the aim of the brand is to encourage conversation. It seems to work: “Someone was wearing our Tshirt that says ‘It’s OK, not to be OK’ on a bus and a stranger came over and started talking to them about it.
It normalises it.”
Much lies in the visual allure of the clothing itself. Bright colours and slogans are social media catnip. The messaging also encourages interaction through likes and comments, all elements that the algorithm rewards.
It all goes to prove that, as with everything else, even psychological wellbeing can be commodified. Last year, in a series dedicated to speculating trends for 2023, Retail Wire revealed “Mental health-oriented mes