New York - A viral video aims to teach a lesson to Abercrombie and Fitch, a clothing company under fire for not carrying plus sizes for larger women.
The video urges people to donate the brand's clothing to the homeless in an effort to shame it for catering to skinny customers.
The video, which has received almost 5 million views on YouTube in three days, came in response to the renewed public debate over the retailer's business model of not carrying plus sizes.
The debate erupted after a remark made by the retailer's chief executive in 2006 resurfaced. Michael Jeffries is quoted as saying Abercrombie and Fitch indeed caters only to a niche customer base he called the cool kids.
“Candidly, we go after the cool kids,” Jeffries said in the interview with Salon. “We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friend ... Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
The comments led to an online outcry against the brand's exclusivity and what critics say is its promotion of an unhealthy body image.
On Monday, teenagers protested outside one of the brand's stores in Chicago, ABC News reported. One protester carried a sign saying, “Social equality for all body types.”
Then came the video created by Los Angeles writer Greg Karber urging people to voice their protest and give the company a “brand readjustment” by donating Abercrombie and Fitch clothing to the homeless.
“Abercrombie and Fitch only wants a certain kind of person to be wearing their clothes,” said Karber in the video. “Today, we are going to change their brand.”
The video shows Karber buying Abercrombie and Fitch garments from a second-hand store and distributing them to homeless people in Los Angeles.
He urges viewers to collect the Abercrombie and Fitch clothes they “mistakenly purchased” and give them to the homeless to disrupt the company's perception of catering to “cool kids.”
The video along with the public outrage has put Abercrombie and Fitch on the defensive.
In a statement sent to dpa Thursday, Jeffries said his 2006 quote was taken out of context.
“I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offence,” Jeffries said. “We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterisations or other anti-social behaviour based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics.”
However, the chief executive stood by his company's business model to target only a select group.
“A and F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers,” Jeffries said.
Karber's video was also criticised for suggesting that the retail company's image would be damaged if poor people wore their clothing.
In an article for Feminspire, Sara Luckey wrote that the campaign exploits this segment of the population.
“It isn't funny, noble, or helpful to try and stick it to Abercrombie and Fitch by using homeless people as the medium for your message,” Luckey wrote. “Would the American population at large be comfortable with any other minority group being used to make a brand look 'bad' by associating their clothing with that group?”
The Abercrombie and Fitch scandal comes just weeks after another major clothing retailer, H&M, released its summer swimwear collection featuring a plus-size model only. - Sapa-dpa