Major clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has come under fire for allegedly throwing away unsold clothes and apparel with defects that could have been donated to charity or thrift stores. It’s all part of CEO Mike Jeffries’ effort to keep his company exclusive, open only to middle class people who fit a certain body type.
“In every school there are the cool and popular kids and then there are the not-so cool kids. We go after the cool kids,” said Jeffries in a recent statement. “A lot of people don’t belong and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
The announcement inspired Los Angeles filmmaker Greg Karber to start a rebranding campaign aimed at giving clothes to homeless people, a group that Jeffries doesn’t want wearing his clothing.
“Abercrombie & Fitch is a terrible company. Their CEO insists on only hiring attractive people … In addition he is refusing to sell extra-large and extra-extra large clothing to women,” says Karber, the creator and narrator of the online video, “Abercrombie & Fitch Gets a Brand Readjustment #FitchTheHomeless.”
To oppose Abercrombie policies, Karber bought several used items of Abercrombie clothing and hands them out to homeless people in Los Angeles, an attempt to rebrand the company by defying the wishes of the CEO.
Critics claim that Karber uses the homeless as props to gain individual fame and recognition. The filmmaker appeals to viewers asking them go into their closets and donate any Abercrombie & Fitch items to homeless shelters in an effort to make Abercrombie & Fitch “the number one provider of homeless apparel.”
Regardless of viewers’ reactions, the video has gone viral, receiving more than 4.5 million views on YouTube.
Tens of thousands have also signed a petition demanding that Abercrombie begin producing clothing for overweight people. Change.org, a website allowing citizens to create petitions, now features a petition calling upon Jeffries “[to] stop telling teens they aren’t beautiful; make clothes for teens of all sizes!”
Nearly 24,500 people have signed the petition. The petition, created by Benjamin O’Keefe of Orlando, Fla., has a goal of reaching 25,000 online signatures.
“Anyone who’s been to Abercrombie & Fitch in the last few years has probably noticed that they don’t carry XL or XXL clothing for women and their waist sizes for men leave room to be desired. Why? Because, they don’t want overweight young people wearing their brand! According to this popular teen clothing retailer ‘fat kids’ will never be a part of the ‘popular crowd’ and will therefore never be a part of their brand,” writes O’Keefe.