“Get rid of fashion”: The Salvation Army’s marketing and retailing of clothing in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Abstract

Purpose This article aims to explore the marketing and retailing of clothing by The Salvation Army since its establishment as a church and charity in the mid-nineteenth century. Its particular focus is on the ways in which Salvation Army garments worked to advertise the organisation and contribute to its branding. Design/methodology/approach The article examines the historical context in which The Salvation Army’s production, marketing and retailing of clothing developed. It reviews existing literature before using periodical sources to examine two case studies: The Salvation Army uniform and the organisation’s extensive commercial production and retailing of secular garments. Findings The Salvation Army’s marketing and retailing of clothing lines exemplifies the organisation’s key strategy of recasting secular items, ideas and processes in a religious context. Clothing has long been central to The Salvation Army’s expression of faith and its trading activities, functioning both to build organisational identity and reputation and to generate revenue. These purposes have remained largely constant but adaptable over time. Social implications The article demonstrates various ways Salvation Army clothing has had wider social impact: through its manufacturing, which created jobs; its marketing, which encouraged consideration of working conditions and spending power; and its wear, which influenced social status. Originality/value The Salvation Army’s extensive production and sale of secular clothing has received little prior academic attention, while the uniform’s long-standing secondary purpose of bringing in revenue for the organisation is less well known than its other functions.