Your thoughts on uniform redesign
What you told us - digging into the data
In response to our recent uniform redesign activities, we heard from nearly 55,000 members!
To get specific, 54,984 members responded to our survey, filled out our activity sheets, or both. Most of those – over 70% - were volunteers, who were also responding on behalf of the unit they did the activity with. But we also heard specifically from parents and carers of girls under 14, young leaders and Rangers.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to send us your thoughts. We’ve said that before, but it’s worth saying again, because all this data and your ideas have had a huge impact on the design process. That’s still ongoing, but we wanted to tell you about some of the big things that are already becoming clear, as well as some of the challenges we’re thinking about.
Who we heard from: 54,984 members
7,422
Rainbows
19,418
Brownies
13,580
Guides
2,670
Rangers
1,976
Young leaders
9,898
Leaders
7,422
Rainbows
19,418
Brownies
13,580
Guides
2,670
Rangers
1,976
Young leaders
9,898
Leaders
It's all about balance
The biggest thing that our team keep coming back to is how to make sure the new uniform meets the design principles we’ve committed to. As we said earlier this year, these principles are guiding every design decision we make. We believe that uniform should:
- be inclusive and affordable
- be sustainable
- help to get across who we are
- be recognisable and distinctive
- be practical and comfortable.
All of these principles are important, but balancing them can be challenging. Your feedback is the thing guiding us on how we balance all these things, and where we make compromises.
Top logo choice for Rainbows
Top logo choice for Brownies
What we learned from the survey
1) There's a lot of love for the sections and the trefoil
As a part of the activity, we gave everyone a few logo options to vote on, which ranged from section logos, to various versions of the trefoil in different sizes. When given this option, the leading choice for Rainbows (54%), Brownies (41%) and Rangers (28%) was their section logos, whereas the leading choice for Guides (51%) and leaders (53%) was a logo that included the trefoil.
Although opinions differ, it does tell us some key things:
- Sticking with an approach where we have different uniforms across the sections is the right way to go. We’ve already done some research on the general public that told us how well-recognised Brownies and Rainbows are, so it was reassuring to know that lots of girls also love their sections! This is recognition that’s been built up across decades, and now that we have it, we don’t want to lose it.
- But it’s also important to know that members of all ages also love the trefoil, and think it’s important that we all look like one family. That’s a big part of why we’re redesigning the uniform – not enough people know that our sections are connected, or what we offer to members of all ages.
So, we’re going for a section-led approach for the designs, but we’re also looking at how we can make them more consistent and connected. The trefoil will be a part of how we achieve that.
2) Speaking of trefoils... size matters
One thing that came out very clearly amongst older girls and volunteers was that a large trefoil across the chest was not a good option. It was too prominent and made some people feel self-conscious. So this is not a design option we’re pursuing. Instead, we’re looking at how we can include the trefoil in more subtle ways across every section’s range.
3) Older girls prefer more subtle options in general
For older girls – Guides and Rangers - there was a clear want for smaller logos, and subtler colour choices. This gave us a great steer on how to think about ways to differentiate the uniform for our older sections, so that we know we’re making something that older girls are more likely to want to wear. We’re exploring options that will help us balance that preference with the need to make all the uniform look like one family.
Top logo choice for Guides
Top logo choice for Rangers
Top logo choice for leaders
Top logo choice for leaders
4) Pink - the girls have spoken
For Rainbows, pink is having a moment! Both pink options in the survey were the most popular colour choices - pink with rainbow stripes got 28% of the vote, and plain pink followed up with 18%. We always take girls’ preferences seriously, and where there’s a clear favourite, we need to listen to that.
But we also know that for many people, pink can be off-putting. When girls don’t like pink, often they really don’t like pink. And parents often feel that the prevalence of pink in toys and clothes for girls reinforces gender stereotypes. So, as an organisation for women and girls, we need to think about how that comes across.
That said, we want to make it clear that there’s nothing wrong with loving pink! At Girlguiding, we’re all about empowering girls’ and young women’s personal choices. So, we’re exploring design options that will help us balance both sides by including pink elements in some garments in the Rainbow uniform, without making everything completely pink. Red will still be a dominant colour, as we know it’s well recognised. And of course, the ‘rainbow’ bit of Rainbows isn’t going anywhere.
Votes for pink with rainbow stripes
Votes for pink
Votes for blue with rainbow stripes
Votes for red with rainbow stripes
Votes for blue
Votes for red
5) Sizing, sustainability and affordability matter to everyone
This wasn’t a surprise, but it’s important to say. Girls and volunteers told us how important it was that uniform was designed for a diverse range of body types. Volunteers in particular asked for more accurate and consistent sizing across our ranges. We know that’s something we need to work on, which is why we’re using this redesign as an opportunity to rethink how we currently approach our sizing, and provide better, clearer options for all.
That applies to our manufacturing process as well. One of the key commitments we’ve made in our environmental plan is to make the uniform using more sustainable, durable fabrics that can be easily recycled.
And finally, everyone told us how important it was that uniform was affordable. We’re taking that seriously, which means we’re thinking about both the overall cost, and also how to make sure that what we’re making is good value, lasts you a long time and can be passed on when you don’t need it any more.
Stay tuned for more updates
We’re still in the middle of the design process, but you can expect to hear more detail soon from the team about how your choices and ideas are influencing the designs.
We’re aiming to have the designs finalised in July, but you won’t see them right away. We expect there’ll still be some changes made during the manufacturing process, which takes a long time to get right. But we’ll tell you as much as we can, as soon as we can.
And as a reminder, our new uniform will be available to buy in 2026, and there'll be a transition period after that.