With
over 51 million of the bands sold, they have definitely
made a considerable difference to charity awareness but
there is a price we pay for this generous wave of compassion:
Notably the lavish branding of them across the vista of
everyday life. It is impossible to escape them in their
many forms.  From
celebrities to sports stars, they are supposed to lead us
to the belief that the branded are the strong, the believers,
the driving force behind a push for greater autonomy. In
truth I feel a sense of overpowering nausea when I see them
on TV, in malls, or fashionably attired in a preciously
coordinated statement styled in bars.
I was first presented with one of these hand collars at
the beginning of last year by a friend who told me "everyone
was wearing them". At first I thought they were novel and
an interesting athletic appendage to be seen when running,
a display of the athlete's will to be stronger and faster
or as something to wear when you were meeting someone for
the first time: "You'll see me. I'll be wearing a bright
yellow bracelet!" With time however, they began popping
up in the strangest of places. Hard to miss beneath even
the heaviest set of pin stripe suits, the little candy coloured
gems began appearing at every turn. The city dwellers had
them in their thousands. The bankers, bar staff, lawyers,
CEOs, barristers, waiters, advertisers (though not wholly
surprising) had them stapled to their arms in an overwhelming
display of pride. Was it a sign of society's changing mindset
to charity, a halo of hope on the arm of moral enlightenment
or was it just a way to form yet another cluster in the
bidding war for social acceptance?
Time
has not leveled their appearance. There is the new spring
season (hot pink) with back orders into the millions. The
sporting landscape is now littered with them. Every member
of both sides currently battling for the Ashes is also,
it seems, battling to raise awareness for breast or prostate
cancer, or the many causes now superseded onto their rubber
surfaces. But possibly the cricketers have their own design,
a carefully crafted stamp reminding their owners to "watch
the ball" or "play straight". Indeed, I could get a couple
of tailored ones to get me through the day. "Wash the dishes",
"Take dog for walk", "Buy milk". The list could be endless,
each with its own significant message, and not some fashionably
driven sentiment kidnapping the ideals behind social awareness.
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