Abercrombie Fitch & CEO maintains that the mark must be worn only by children "cool". Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex FeaturesCEO Mike Jeffries, Abercrombie Fitch &, is having a bad couple of weeks. After the comments that he made in 2006 suggesting people are unfit to wear his trademark re-emerged in an article by Business Insider has become the subject of ire. The piece focuses on the company's refusal to sell their competitors have already embraced larger, much to the benefit of their bottom line. Jeffries was quoted as saying:
"In every school there are cool and popular kids, and then there are children not-so-cold," "candidly, we go after the cool guys. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and lots of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and do not belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely ".
His statement left me disgusted and inspired me to start a petition on Change.org demanding he apologize and show all the guys are beautiful expanding offerings of Abercrombie's size. Little did he know that in two weeks, 70,000 people would join me, and I want to inspire a global movement calling for a change from A & f.
As a survivor, I am fully aware of the effects that discriminatory rhetoric, like that of Mr. Jeffries, can have on teenagers. When I wandered to the shelves of Abercrombie and not finding clothes that fit, as stupid as it sounds now, made me feel useless. If those were the "it" stylings and couldn't wear, so how could I ever be a part of the "it" crowd? The feelings of worthlessness instilled these messages and bullying I faced by others who believed they drove me into a spiral of depression that fought for years. It was the voice of Mr. Jeffries was in my ear, however the overwhelming support system, which I was lucky enough to have, it would all but confirmed these negative feelings.
The 33 percent of children and teens struggling with weight issues to understand those feelings all too well. Instead of inspiring kids to make healthy choices, Mr Jeffries and his company stepped into the role of the school bully to say once again that we will never be good enough. Now I'm strong enough to know that he is wrong – and strong enough to stand up to tell him so.
Standing up to a bully is scary, but when a global movement behind you, sometimes the bully asks to sit down for a chat. I was surprised when representatives Abercrombie has asked to meet with me, but on Tuesday, I sat down with senior staff to F with & President National Association of eating disorders and CEO Lynn Grefe and two experts in the field of eating disorders and body image, to discuss how to F & can improve its lack of diversity in their clothing and branding.
At the meeting, I handed over 2,000 double-sided pages of signatures to the managers of Change.org Abercrombie. This petition represents more than 70,000 names, faces, 70,000 70,000 voices asking to be heard.
The conversation was long and wide. I shared the details of my struggles with anorexia, bullying and depression, and reasoned with them from a business point of view. According to Business Insider, 67% of the population are purchasing "plus-size" and lead to an annual income of retail sales of almost $ 16bn.
I left Abercrombie with a challenge: redefining what is "cool". Now the brand is not cool; It represents discrimination. Abercrombie did to themselves by insisting on a dangerous ideal of beauty. But this controversy is an opportunity for them to save the image of their brand by redefining cool to include diversity representing the teenagers and the value. We want adults and companies running figuring it's worth is not about the size of your life, but the size of your heart and the length of your ambition.
Staff members present were moved by the stories that we shared and willing to work to make concrete changes. Shortly after the meeting, a spokesman at & F has released this statement:
"Look forward to continuing this dialogue and take concrete steps to demonstrate our commitment to anti-bullying over to our constant support of diversity and inclusion. We want to reiterate that we sincerely regret and apologize for any offense caused by comments that we made in the past that are contrary to these values. "
I'm excited to see Abercrombie issue what I believe to be a sincere apology, and I'm cautiously optimistic that our hard work has borne fruit. Abercrombie has made a clear commitment to continue this conversation, and I am determined to ensure that they see. I look forward to continue an open dialogue with Abercrombie and work together to create a world of young people who are proud and embrace all the things that make them beautiful.
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