Hazmat Loungewear

Client: Health Equals

Health Equals is a coalition of organisations working to give everyone the best chance of good health. Recognising that our homes are fundamental to our health, Health Equals set out to expose one of the most overlooked drivers of health inequality in the UK.

Our homes should be places of safety, stability and comfort. Yet, 1 in 4 people in the UK live with issues like damp, cold and mould – conditions making them ill and putting their lives at risk. This is the result of a broken housing system and demands urgent reform. To draw attention to this hidden crisis, we created a new clothing brand Hazmat Loungewear – clothes fit for unfit homes. Safety wear designed to shield people from damp, cold and mould – hazards that no one should need protection from in their own home. But Hazmat Loungewear is a fake solution deliberately created to shock, capture public attention and spark conversation. At the heart of the campaign was a pop-up shop window in London's Soho. Models wearing the suits went about everyday ‘family life’ in our window, powerfully visualising the reality of unsafe housing. We generated national headlines, with hard-hitting stats exposing the scale of the problem, while paid social activity disrupted news feeds and pushed people to the campaign page. Despite a modest budget, the campaign exceeded expectations and delivered against our objectives to shine a light on health inequalities and drive action, showing that creative thinking can create impact that matters.