“Sometimes you’re on top, stay humble. Sometimes you’ve hit a low, stay hopeful.” This is the slogan of Lokai, a bracelet manufacturing company, but these bracelets are not created like any other bracelet, as they advertise to contain water from Mt. Everest and mud from the Dead Sea. A string of clear beads link the two, signifying that throughout life’s circular journey, your path is your own. As Steven, from the Lokai company, puts it, “life is about the journey, not the destination” (Lokai.)

For High School students here at Hingham, the promise of balance may appear very appealing, but that is not the only contributing factor to the purchase of the bracelets. Sophomore Abigail Finnerty said “They are just like any other fad. People love them when they appear to be unique, but once them become popular, people will move onto the next “big thing.” Abigail, like many other students here at Hingham, does not appear to be fazed by the short­lived fads of adolescent consumers just because they are trendy.

Ashtin Burbank, also a sophomore, however, did buy the bracelet, mainly because “she liked the way they looked, not because everyone had them.”

The biggest downfall of these bracelets would be their market price, averaging on about $18.00 each. Due to the high consumer demand, the producers can charge as much as they want, which in reality, isn’t feasible.

Grace Gruber, a freshman said, “They are cool, but they don’t remind me to live a balanced life, as their slogan advertised. They only remind me of why I had spent $18.00 on a piece of plastic.” Grace like many other high school students, are infuriated with the Lokai industry taking advantage of teenagers to sell what is seemed to be as
“plastic.”

Not only are people outraged with the price, but they also the regard the supposed “truth value” of the product as false advertsising. Clare Daly, a sophomore, expecting to find mud from the Dead Sea and water from Mt. Everest in her Lokai, was surprised to discover the contents of her overpriced bracelet. She admits that she “…broke one open this summer and found that there was nothing in it. My cousin and I spent $18.00 for nothing!”

Whether Hingham High School students purchased these Lokai brackets to be “trendy” or just for their attractive appearance, mixed reviews loom as the value of these bracelets remain unknown.