Target’s Cat and Jack commended for ‘clever’ children’s clothing labels

Clothing tags encourage hand-me-downs

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Friday 30 December 2022 12:28 EST
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Related: In a circular economy, ‘fashion and sustainability are not an oxymoron’

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A Target-owned children’s brand has been praised for its “super helpful” clothing labels, after a parent shared a photo of a label promoting hand-me-downs.

The photo of the tag was posted to the Reddit subreddit r/mildyinteresting by Reddit user u/sixpackremux last month, where they captioned the picture: “The name tag on my kid’s jacket has lines for three names for hand-me-downs.”

In the photo, it showed a jacket from Target’s Cat & Jack children’s clothing line laid out to show the tag on the inside, which read: “This belongs to:” along with three lines where the name of the wearer could be filled in.

Under each line, it reads explorer one, explorer two, and explorer three, respectively.

On Reddit, where the post has been upvoted more than 4,000 times, users have commended the brand’s dedication to clothing that can be passed down and reused.

“Cat & Jack clothing is surprisingly solid! My daughter has received many hand-me-downs which we have passed along as well!” one user wrote in the comments, while another described the label as “super helpful”.

According to someone else, the idea is “neat” considering how fast children grow out of clothing. “That’s not surprising, and actually a neat idea. Kids grow so fast, hand-me-downs are just what to expect out of children’s clothing,” they wrote.

The post also prompted some to praise the brand’s warranty, with one user claiming that the Target-owned brand is “great and they have an amazing warranty”. “If your kid wears it out within a year of purchase, you can take the item and your receipt to Target and get a replacement or a refund,” they advised.

On Target’s website, it notes that Cat & Jack, which offers items for babies, toddlers, and children, has a one-year guarantee.

Others said they were impressed by the tag from a marketing standpoint, as one person claimed that it “subtly communicates the product will easily survive three children”.

“Fantastic marketing. Useful feature that subtly communicates the product will easily survive three children,” they wrote, while another person said: “Man, if that isn’t confidence in your brand quality, I don’t know what is.”

Target has an entire section of its website dedicated to its sustainability efforts, with the retailer noting that, “by 2040, Target plans for 100 per cent of its owned brand products to be designed for a circular future”.

According to Target, to achieve the goal, and ensure its products “positively impact both people and planet,” its “teams will continue designing to eliminate waste, working toward using materials that are regenerative, recycled or sourced sustainably, and to create products that are more durable, easily repaired or recyclable”.

In addition to encouraging its clothes be passed down after the original wearer has grown out of them, many of the Cat & Jack items are also made with recycled materials, as noted on the website. Under the description of a child’s shirt, it states that it was made “using at least 20 per cent recycled polyester,” which Target says is another way the company is “committed to promoting sustainability”.

Target is not the only retailer to encourage hand-me-downs with its clothing tags, as LL Bean has earned praise for a similar idea, which saw the company include Hand-Me-Down Trail tags on its children’s clothing. Similarly to Target, the tag includes space for three different children’s names.

The Independent has contacted Target for comment.

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