I know there’s been a lot of
controversy lately in the news about the comments Mike Jeffries, CEO of
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), made back in 2006. These comments were made
7 years ago, but the recent announcement that the company would no longer be
carrying size 10 in women’s clothing sparked a viral controversy of the entire
brand, with celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres speaking out against it.
Information that A&F burns
unbought clothing rather than donating them to the needy sparked further talk
and a campaign called ‘Fitch the Homeless’ by Greg Karber, an L.A. film maker.
The campaign aims to change A&F’s brand by giving the company’s clothing to
the homeless.
As well meaning as the campaign
is, I have some issues with it. I felt that the homeless in the video were
being used just to spread the message. Never were they asked how they feel
about the controversy or the ‘Fitch the Homeless’ campaign, nor were they even
asked if they actually wanted the clothing or able to try clothing on to see if
it would even fit. Karber just walked around handing it out to make his point
without any respect for the homeless involved.
Regardless of whether the
campaign is right or not, it has caused a huge impact with nearly 7 million
views on Youtube and numerous articles circulating the web. A&F’s reputation
has taken a dive and it will be interesting to see whether this controversy
will mean the end of their company. Do you think that clothing companies aimed
at teenagers should be allowed to target a particular ‘skinny and popular’ crowd
that excludes others? If not, then who should have to take responsibility for
it? And what do you think about the ‘Fitch the Homeless’ campaign?
