In our view, children should safely listen to audio, whether at home or in school, using safe children’s headphones. We believe technology must be trustworthy, and products should protect young users—especially since children are still growing and developing. The last thing we want is for any harmful effects to impact children during these important early years.
How it started
For a year or two before launching the first Clevy Headphone in 2010, we explored many ideas for children’s headphones. We wanted something sturdy and volume-safe—designed specifically for kids. Even now, we occasionally find the very first working sample while cleaning out old corners of our warehouse archives. Only one unit was ever made, making it possibly the most expensive children’s headphones we’ve produced.
It’s our own version of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin—rare, unique, and meaningful to our story.
Clevy Hearsafe
Fast forward to 2020; After processing all the feedback we received from our trusty customer base on the previous headphone models over the years (while obviously keeping all the good stuff), the Clevy Headphone 3.0 came to see the light of day. Or, as we call it: Clevy Hearsafe. However, not without some serious hurdles to take during the development process.
Hygienic and customizable headphones
At first, we planned to create a waterproof case for our new Clevy Hearsafe headphones. Since many headphones are sold to schools, we wanted to add a case with name ID stickers for both headphones and cases. This would stop headphones from being shared head-to-head, solving a major hygiene problem in schools. Making the case waterproof was essential because head lice are a big issue at primary schools. A waterproof zipper would keep these pests out. Initially, this seemed possible, but the sample we received had a zipper too hard for children to open. Since there was no better solution, we had to drop the waterproof zipper idea. However, the case with ID stickers remains a valuable feature for our Hearsafe headphones.
Easy to clean headphones
Another idea was to try rubber coating for the Hearsafe headphones. Rubber coating looks comfortable, and both children and parents liked its look and feel after our research. However, after stress-testing and exploring worst-case scenarios, we decided to skip rubber coating. Why? Rubber is hard to clean and not scratch-proof. Scratches make rubber even less hygienic. That’s why we chose UV coating for the headphone parts instead. UV coating is easy to clean, scratch-proof, and we think it looks classier in the end.
Then COVID hit, disrupting many parts of our work. Factories shut down, and Donald Trump’s trade war with China added more challenges. Meanwhile, factories making earpiece padding worked overtime to meet global work-from-home demand. We saw this situation as an opportunity to improve our product. We kept fine-tuning until we created what we believe are the best children’s headphones ever: the Clevy Hearsafe. The first new Clevy headphones are expected to ship by early April. Stay tuned—we’ll share more updates as they become available!
Update
The Clevy Hearsafe Children’s Headphone is available. Take a look at Alt products new headphones for kids and read more about it.
