logo logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

Nonprofits and Online Activism Target Abercrombie and Fitch

Aine Creedon
June 11, 2013

 

FitchPlease
Image Source: DOSOMETHING.ORG

June 7, 2013; New York Daily News

Abercrombie and Fitch has recently come under media scrutiny for statements made by its CEO, Mike Jeffries, about their archetypal consumer. “We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends,” Jeffries said. “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

This “exclusionary” policy seems to be aimed only at their female customers, because although they provide XL and XXL in men’s tops, they do not provide any other plus sizes. Business Insider reported that 67 percent of the U.S. population fit the “plus-sized” marketing label Abercrombie and Fitch is trying to disavow.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Jeffries has made similar hateful comments in the past, particularly in an interview with Salon in 2006, but in this new age of online activism, the controversy caught fire. Other horrid A&F policies resurfaced, like the fact that the company chooses to burn all their damaged clothes rather than donate them to the homeless. A video by Greg Karber asking the public to donate all their A&F items to the homeless in retaliation went viral and gained over a million views within days. Some criticized the video for exploiting the homeless in the campaign, but the message to boycott A&F was spread far and wide nonetheless.

The staff of DoSomething.org also took to the streets last week to protest at Abercrombie and Fitch on 5th Avenue in New York City, as their online petition to call for A&F to provide clothes for all body types reached 15,000 signatures. Over thirty activists stormed the retail store wearing oversized t-shirts that read, “We may not wear this size, but 15,000 people respect people who do.” The protest was tied into DoSomething.org’s online activism campaign, which asked the public to text “SIZE” to 38383 to support the petition, using the clever hashtag #FitchPlease.

Colleen Wormsley, protester and marketing associate for DoSomething.org, said, “We don’t think being cool depends on what size you are. All kids should be considered cool no matter what their size. These are Abercrombie’s target market.”

This battle isn’t just about creating bigger sizes, but fighting A&F’s clear message to support discrimination within a teenage demographic that struggles immensely with bullying issues. Since the start of the Jeffries controversy, A&F’s sales have plummeted, suggesting that the company may need to rethink their organizational leadership to bounce back from this scandal.—Aine Creedon

About the author
Aine Creedon

Aine Creedon is Nonprofit Quarterly's Director of Digital Operations and has worn many hats at NPQ since 2011. She has extensive experience with social media, communications and outreach in the nonprofit sector, and spent two years in Americorps programs serving with a handful of nonprofits across the nation as well as a community organization in Dorchester, Boston. Aine currently resides in Denver, Colorado where she enjoys volunteering, seeing live music, and hiking with her pups Frida and Tucker.

More about: ActivismCorporate Social ResponsibilityNonprofit NewsPolicy

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Summer Camp in a Climate-Changed World
Alison Stine
New York and Other States Move to Fix Nonprofit Contracting Delays
Lauren Girardin
What to the Immigrant Is the Fourth of July?
Rebekah Barber
On the Front Lines: How Campus Organizing Can Inform Movements Today
Aashna Miharia
In Los Angeles, a Black-Led Community Land Trust Builds for the Future
Steve Dubb
The US Bombing of Iran—How Nonprofits and Civil Society Must Respond
Phyllis Bennis

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
September 24th-25th, 2:00 pm ET

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits

Expert Guidance for Experienced QuickBooks Users

Register

    
You might also like
Two young people watch from shore as a canoe with a child in a life vest enters a lake.
Summer Camp in a Climate-Changed World
Alison Stine
An aerial view of New York City buildings during the daytime.
New York and Other States Move to Fix Nonprofit Contracting...
Lauren Girardin
The Statue of Liberty against a cloudy sky.
What to the Immigrant Is the Fourth of July?
Rebekah Barber

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.