Homeless-Inspired Sheets Bring Street Into The Bedroom

Dutch By Design, a UK-based modern home goods company, is offering The Home Duvet, a comforter cover, emblazoned with the screen-print of a weathered cardboard box, complete with duct tape detailing. A pillowcase set completes the look. The pattern's popularity has resulted in its being on back-order on the company site. The company is releasing a second print that is patterned after gritty sidewalk pavement.

Proclaiming that the duvet "lets you sleep under a cardboard box so a homeless person doesn't have to" can be called classless or chalked up to British cheekiness, but it's certainly cause-minded. Thirty percent of the profits from the sale of the sheets benefit Centrepoint, a UK charity that benefits homeless youth ages 16 to 25. Centrepoint houses and supports over 800 homeless young homeless people every night. The organization is planning a sleepout for November 12 where supporters give up their beds and take to the streets to gather support and funds.

What do you think? It certainly heightens awareness of the dire sleeping arrangements of the homeless by bringing the streets directly (and ironically) into the bedroom.

Comments

[AriannaFan2]

All I can say is: interesting!

[CatTheGadfly]

It does give rather a slanted idea of who comprise the homeless, even in that age group, and their living conditions -- but proceeds are going to the right place and it's raising consciousness in a rather unique way. It's also targeting a market that is about the same age as the homeless youth who will benefit from the proceeds -- a market who certainly will buy products that benefit charitable organizations even if they don't always donate directly.

If it were "making fun" for a profit, exploiting, or unaware and unconcerned of the possibility that this could upset people (for example, the way people sell "psycho" Halloween costumes and don't care that it perpetuates stigma against the mentally ill, nor do they donate the proceeds to any related charity, but just basically exploit a sensationalized image), I'd have a problem. But the way this is being used, it's creative.

And not much farther off than buying already-ripped jeans and so forth. Though never directly advertised as "buy clothes that look as if you're having to wear your brother's hand-me-downs" or "buy clothes that look as if you've been in prison" doesn't mean that that's not pretty much what was being sold. Except, in this case, it's sheets, not clothes, it's for a cause, and is honest in the advertising.

Ultimately, though, what do homeless kids sleeping under cardboard boxes think of this? They have more of a right to an opinion than do I.