Baird 1

Whitney Baird
Mr.Pettitt
English 101 w019
10/25/10
The Bandz are Banned
One year ago BCP imports was a small company that only had eight phone lines,
twenty U.S. employees, and was selling one-hundred packs of silly bandz a week. Now the
company has forty-eight phone lines, four-hundred employees in the U.S. and three-thousand
in China, where silly bandz are made. Today they are selling one million packs a week.
(Horovitz 2)
Silly bandz are the new trend that have taken over pop culture and its only the
beginning. They are a silicone rubber band that morphs into shapes of animals or people and
come in a variety of colors. When they are on your wrist they look like a regular rubber band
until you remove them. They come in a pack of twenty-four all having to do with a theme.
There is even talk of them coming out with silly necklaces and rings. (Horovitz 1)
I had never heard of these silly bandz until I was speaking with a coworker about her
kids. She started telling me about how her kids keep wearing these bandz to school even
though they are banned. This defiantly interested me. What exactly are these bandz and why
they are being banned from an elementary school? Once I was aware of the silly bandz I
started noticing them being sold everywhere. They certainly are very popular.

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I went to spend the day with my twelve year old sister and noticed she had some silly
bandz. I asked her about the bandz because I wanted to get her perspective on them and learn
if they were banned at her school or not. We had a long discussion about the bandz and how
they played a part in her everyday life. She told me that she likes them but doesnt wear them
to school very often because most of her teachers dont allow them in their classrooms. It
amazes me that a tiny rubber band bracelet isnt allowed in a classroom. How could it be so
harmful? She told me that some teachers considered them dangerous. Kids were using them
as sling shots and shooting other kids. They had become a distraction in the classroom.
(Nance)
Principals in several states, including Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts consider silly
bandz contraband. What could possibly be so insidious about rubber bands that retain shapes
of child friendly silhouettes? Its a distraction, says Jill Wolborsky, a fourth grade teacher
in Raleigh, N.C. Children are trading them and showing them off during classroom time and
not paying attention to math and reading. Sometimes trades go bad and end up in a scuffle.
(Rochman 1-2)
Its amazing to think this all started from one man, Robert Croak, forty seven, whose
dream was to become a pro baseball player or an inventor. Now he is the CEO of BCP
Imports and known as the silly bandz man. (Horovitz 1)He has more plans in store for the
bandz and hopes to make this a trend and not a fad. His company has never bought an ad.
They rely on word of mouth although lately it seems word of mouth isnt so good. They are
becoming more of a hassle than fun. If you cant wear them to school where you spend most

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of your time then why invest the money in them? Its because they are inexpensive and in
this economy that goes a long way. (Horovitz3)
Some parents and grandparents even have started using them as a reward
system. They are so inexpensive its easy to buy them in bulk and give them as a reward
without having to spend much. As long as they stay a trend the market will keep booming
with them. Even adults and famous people have been seen wearing them. (Horovitz 2)
I remember back when I was in elementary school and the slap bracelet was
very popular. Those were eventually banned in some schools throughout the United States. It
was said the slap bracelets could cause injuries (New York Times Archive). I think banning
certain things eggs kids on to do the opposite, especially if its easy to access and not illegal.
Kids begin to start hiding the banned item and become sneaky and manipulative.
In society we tend to follow the lead of others. We do what we see and what
were taught. At a young age we are shown that it is better to fit in then to stand out. We try
to copy what the cool kids are doing. But who decides these rules and what is cool or not
cool? How does a fad or a trend even get started? If the television, internet, or magazines
arent telling you what you should be doing then someone is or everybody wouldnt be
following these trends. If you look around, no matter where you are, you can see what is
popular. The silly bandz are in every store you go to and there is no way to avoid them. So
what makes a person decide to join a trend or start their own?

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Everyone wants to be unique and stand out in their own way but the fact is we also
all want something in common. What ties us Americans together are our fads and trends.
They shape and define what we have come to know as Uniquely American. (Frank)
So how long will the silly bandz fad last or will it become a lasting trend? Croak
believes he has at least a solid five years to go and plans to introduce new silly bandz items.
(Horovitz 3). It will be interesting to watch this craze and see how long it lasts. There are
always new things coming out on the market trying to grab peoples attention. My sister
thinks there will be something out thats better and that will be allowed in school. This would
certainly cause a stir inside BCP Imports. Shes hoping its silly necklaces and rings.
Although trends come and go it is fun to look back and remember all the fun things
you grew up with and see how you perceive them now as an adult. Some things I look back
on and cannot figure out why I liked them so much and somethings I wish were still around.
I was really into tamagotchi pets. I remember it being so fun to have a pet puppy or kitty
and you electronically fed them and you would watch them grow. If you neglected them they
would die. All my friends had them and we had multiple ones. I also was a beanie baby
collector for awhile. I would be sure to never cut the tag off and make sure it was protected. I
had a friend whos mom would go early in the morning to wait in line for the new beanie
baby that was coming out. She would buy a bunch for all of us girls.
It will be interesting to see if twenty years from now if we will remember silly bandz
or if it will be a lost fad. Society will be the one to choose whether it stays or goes. Im sure
Croak is hoping it will stay and keep putting more money in his pocket. Im just not sure if it

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will be as life changing as slap bracelets and cardboard pogs. Who knows they might even
come back and be a trend again?

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Work Cited
Frank, P.L. Mindjack. The Razors Edge, n.d. Web. 25 October 2010.
http://www.mindjack.com/plfrank/fads.html
Horovitz, Bruce. Silly Bandz Mania Takes Shape. USA Today 1 July 2010: 5
Ebscohost Database
n.p. The New York Times Archive. The New York Times, 11 October 1990. Web. 24
October 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/11/garden/principal-puts-a-halt-to-slapbracelet-fad.html
Nance, Parker. Personal Interview. 19 October 2010.
Rochman, Bonnie. Banning the Bandz. Time Vol. 175 issue 23 14 June 2010 3
Ebscohost Database