Animal Bracelets - What, Who, Where

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What Are Animal Bracelets?

Over the past couple of years animal bracelets have become hugely popular with kids everywhere. They are fun to wear, fun to trade, and fun to collect. If you don't know what animal bracelets are they are silicone rubber bands made in the shape of objects and people. The silicone rubber band looks and acts much like a traditional rubber band, but it is able to retain its original shape for longer periods of time. The designs range from dinosaurs to dollar signs and the list keeps growing. They come in many different colors and when you wear a bunch on your wrist they look like a gob of rainbow colored pasta. The cost per pack is around five dollars making them popular with parents too. You typically get six different designs per pack. Each pack contains two or four bands of each design for a total of 12 to 24 bracelets per pack.

Who Makes Animal Bracelets?

The animal bracelets craze really took off in the Fall of 2009 and it has been spreading like wildfire ever since. Their success has inspired many new manufacturers to begin producing these cute and collectible bracelets all around the world. There are so many companies making animal bracelets now it's getting hard to keep track of all of the new brands. Some of the more popular brands are Silly Bandz, Zany Bandz, and Crazy Bands, but there are many start-ups coming on fast. As with everything else that is mass produced animal bracelets are often made in China and developing nations where the labor is cheap. Don't worry though, as far as I can tell the quality between different makers is pretty much the same. The larger companies typically produce generic shapes for the masses leaving specialty segments for smaller companies. One of these segments is college football. Currently some of the smaller manufacturers are producing rubber bands in college football colors. I predict that very soon most college football teams will have custom rubber bands in the shape of their mascots and team colors. The professional sports market is another niche that will probably have custom rubber bands very soon. So keep looking.

Where To Find Animal Bracelets

If you are an avid collector, like I am, you are probably always on the hunt for new designs. Half of the fun collecting animal bracelets is finding new packs. At first they were only sold in toy stores and specialty shops. Now you can find them in retailers everywhere, but each store typically only carries one or two brands. Wal-Mart and Target have not started selling them yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to find them on their shelves soon. To find new styles you have to visit several stores in your neighborhood or search the web. I do both, but the internet is the preferred method. Most of the manufacturers have their own websites where they sell individual packs, but searching the internet can be time consuming and unless you are really dedicated you may miss some.