Irish Made: This Trendy Clothing Brand Was Created To Raise Mental Health Awareness

This week marked World Suicide Prevention Day.

A day like this really resonates with people as most of us have experienced it. Right now in Ireland, there are over 12,000 attempts of suicide annually and suicide rates are three times higher in men than women.

There are so many different organisations and individuals working to promote mental health awareness as of late and one that has really stood out to me is BPB Wear.

BiPolar Bear Wear is a fresh clothing brand that was created by Arklow native, Stephen Considine.

The clothes aim to promote happiness and get people talking about mental health. The idea is if you’re wearing BPB, you’re supporting mental health charities and you’re open to talk about it, eliminating the stigmas surrounding it.

BPB explains:

“There’s a depression epidemic amongst our generation. But it is rarely confronted. Mainly because of the old fashioned “I’m grand thanks” answers to “how are you?”.

Owner Stephen Considine had his own struggles with mental health and he created the company to help others in a similar situation.

“Our goal is to raise mental health awareness, and to support those that can help with your mental health. Your granny may have remedies for a flu, but probably has very little Cognitive Behavioural Therapy expertise.”

Along with their own collections, BPB also stock a range called AWear.

This range invites an artist to create a special edition piece of attire. Of these special editions, 100% of the profits go straight to BPB’s designated charity, which changes with each range. Some of the charities that have been chosen are St Pat’s Mental Health Services and Pieta House.

The website also has a really interesting blog section, where customers can contribute and write about their own struggles with mental illness.

It’s a really good read.