A survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) showed children's desire to fit in and be like everyone else in their school seemed to play a huge role in the items they wanted to own.
Teachers ranked brands, friends and logos as the top three influences on children - respectively rated by 93 per cent, 91 per cent, and 77 per cent of teachers.
Almost half of teachers (46 per cent) said young people who could not afford the fashion items or branded goods owned by their peers had been left out, isolated or bullied as a result.
More than 350 support staff, teachers and lecturers working in schools, sixth form and further education colleges around the UK were quizzed for the study.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL, said the survey confirmed the "huge pressure" on young people to fit in with their friends and peer groups.
"Schools and colleges should be places where all children feel equal, but it is virtually impossible for schools to protect their pupils from the harsher aspects of these commercial influences," she said.
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