In a bid to combat negative youth stereotypes, London-based charity London Youth has launched a collaborative campaign with clothing brand Champion.
The campaign is based on a social listening study conducted by The Corner agency, which looked into negative youth stereotypes on social media. Ten of the most common negative words used to describe young people were: dangerous, anti-social, irresponsible, lazy, hostile, rude, violent, angry, selfish and ungrateful.
Recognising how these labels can affect personal growth, the collaboration seeks to counter this negativity through a capsule collection of T-shirts titled 'Labels.'
Each T-shirt is inspired by the personal stories of five young people who have faced negative stereotypes head on and overcome them through help from youth clubs and organisations.
To accompany the T-shirts, which will be available to buy in Champion's Soho store and Oxford St's Urban Outfitters, film-maker James Pearson-Howes has made a short film that features the five youths who inspired them.
Wearing the T-shirts, each youth shares stories of the positive impact local youth clubs have had on their lives.
The aim of the campaign is to highlight the knock-on effects of reduced government funding for youth services, by demonstrating the transformative impact that youth workers and services can have on the lives of young people.