By now, you’ve probably heard about the scandalous, and ugly stance of Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mark Jeffries. And by now, you’ve also probably heard, and even shared, the video by Greg Karber imploring us to #FitchtheHomeless.
In case you don’t know about it, the basic premise is that A&F makes no apologies for refusing to carry sizes bigger than a Large/10, and only hiring good looking “cool” kids to work their stores. If you’re not thin, beautiful, rich, and popular, you aren’t welcome to wear their clothing. Furthermore, A&F burns defective merchandise rather than donating it…for fear of it tainting their image by getting into the wrong hands. Because, cool, hip, beautiful people are rich enough to buy new…the people who can’t afford it are the wrong people altogether.
In what seems on the surface to be an ingenious idea, Karber started a campaign where he encourages everyone to find any and all Abercrombie clothing…whether it be in your closet, your friend’s closet, or even your local Goodwill…and donate it to your local homeless shelter and/or even pass it out to the local homeless guy on the corner.
You know, when I first saw the video, I smirked. After all, A&F needs a major kick the gut after being such pompous jerks. It’s just gross, and “giving it to The Man” is always kinda fun. Jeffries doesn’t want to donate clothes? Let’s do it for him! He wants only pretty people to wear his stuff? We’ll show him!
Right?
Look, let me start by saying this: I love the act of clothing the homeless. Truly. My heart aches every time I see a poor soul begging on the corner. Do I find the words of A&F CEO disgusting and appalling? Absolutely. Do I want him to get one, great, big slice of Humble Pie? You know it. And you know, I realize that the creator of #FitchtheHomeless has nothing but good intentions at heart. Frankly, I think we could be fast friends. Just like I know that anyone who shared the video, helping it go viral almost overnight, was simply joining in what they genuinely believed was the Good Fight.
That is, if the Good Fight is telling Abercrombie (and every other major corporation) that discrimination is ugly and will not be tolerated, I’m in.
But at what expense? Are we inadvertently fighting judgmental discrimination through another, more subtle form of discrimination?
Years ago, I read this book
Hang with me for a second…
Let’s change the parameters of this Screw A&F Campaign real quick: what if we suggested that we go to every local high school and gave A&F clothing to the fattest, ugliest, pimply faced teenagers we could find? You know, the “dork” who sits eating his sandwich alone? The one who is bullied and threatened and has soda “accidentally” spilled on him by the jocks? You know, the exact type of person who A&F absolutely does not, under any circumstances want wearing his clothes?
YEAH! Let’s give it to A&F! Let’s find the exact opposite of what he wants, and do it! Screw him! And you know, let’s not only do it, but let’s take pictures of the fat, nerdy, socially awkward kids wearing his clothes and let’s share it! Twitter! Facebook! Pinterest! We’ll show HIM! HaHa Sucker! There’s your cool clothes and the biggest, ugliest dork we could find!!! BOOYAH!
I probably don’t have to say that this would be appalling and unacceptable.
In fact, this “idea” would be as despicable as the A&F CEO himself.
So…what are we saying…as a culture…as a society…when we don’t see homeless people in the same light and with the same level of respect? After all, aren’t we seeking out the least cool, unhip, lowest tier of the economic ladder, and doing the exact. same. thing.?! We paint it with the broad brush of philanthropy…but we’re clothing them!!! We’re standing up to Big Corporation and doing Good all at the same time!
Well, yes. And that is good. So very good. But at what price? Good intentions don’t always translate into good things. Do you want free clothing…homeless or otherwise…if you were the inadvertent butt of an internet joke?
Now, I’m pretty sure someone is thinking “But they’re homeless! They don’t have the internet. So they don’t even know. And they’re getting desperately needed clothing. It’s a win-win! You’re being too sensitive, Jeannett.”
I mean, if that’s me being sensitive, I guess I can’t get mad when a group of kids makes fun of the mentally disabled kid in class…because, you know, it’s not like they understand that we’re making fun of them…in fact, they smile and think we’re laughing with them…so really, it’s nice of us…we’re making him laugh!
::cringe::
Maybe I’m being sensitive. Maybe I’m reading into it too much. Maybe.
Or maybe, we are all buying into the lie that homeless people are simply bums…and not homeless people. People with feelings and hearts and souls and worth.
It’s a subtle belief that none of us (myself included) would admit to holding onto: the homeless population are our modern day lepers. But here it is, front and center…albeit a little hidden under all the layers of a society who is absolutely sick and tired of all the gross and over the top focus on only Photoshop attainable beauty. Can I tell you how absolutely thrilled I am to see our collective anger over this? I love that we are fed up with Hollywood’s ridiculous standards. I am so excited to see us join forces to tell the powers that be that we will not tolerate this unnatural obsession with perfection any longer. It is a good, good, good thing. Truly.
But positioning the homeless as the butt of an internet hashtag, does not cease to make them a pawn in our little internet games. Nor does it undo the fact that we are now committing the very crimes we are trying to fight against!
So now what? I mean, maybe you’ve shared the video to all of your friends…maybe you laughed and thought it was a brilliant ploy…whatever. It’s okay. It sucks that we forget and compartmentalize others…but it happens…and the real test of beauty is in being humble enough to make an about face and admit that it wasn’t the right approach after all.
Rather than #FitchtheHomeless, perhaps it simply needs to be #DitchtheFitch. Period.
Scour your closets. Get rid of it all. And you know what? Donate it to the thrift shop. Quietly. Unceremoniously. If someone (poor, hipster, or otherwise) chooses to buy it…great. But no need to seek out the homeless specifically.
But more importantly, don’t shop there. Ever. Again.
If you have children who like their clothing, teach them that you cannot in good conscience support a company who’s values are so disgusting.
TOMS shoes taught our youth that giving is good. They managed to take a simple canvas shoe, and build an empire by encouraging others to think beyond themselves. Buy one pair of (ugly) shoes…give a pair. Our kids bought into this form of philanthropy and have spent millions in this kind of one to one campaign. Is it perfect? Probably not. But it’s a start. It’s the beginning of the next generation remembering that there is someone else out there…that life isn’t all about them and those in their zip code. It’s a start.
Let’s also teach our kids that the reverse is true: encourage companies who make a difference for the better…and do not support companies who’s value system is contrary to ours.
There are so many ways to make a difference in our world…and our dollars….and where they go is absolutely a part of that picture.
But so is our response to collective frustration. We must not jump to embrace a proposed solution if it simply poses a different problem.
In the end, it’s just not worth it.
*Disclosure: amazon affiliate link used.
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I had the same thoughts once I heard about the video. Thanks for sharing the other side of the story.
YES! Oh my goodnes, yes. I’ve been struggling with the exact same thing. The whole concept just struck me as people saying to the homeless that “well, you are SO obviously NOT what A&F are looking for, so we’ll give it all to you”. Not good.
I LOVE this. And you.
The end :)
I’m a little torn on it honestly. I see where you’re coming from, and how it can be construed as good intentioned but still mean… and maybe unceremoniously dropping the clothes off at the thrift store is the best route and educating youngsters as to why you will no longer support the brand is important.
But I do think that the homeless would benefit more from free clothing than having to pay for something at Goodwill or a thrift shop and if you’re donating clothing isn’t it better to donate where someone in need can get use out of it rather than the hipster kids who can afford to shop at Urban Outfitters for that dereliqued look but think it’s “cool” to thrift shop? I don’t know. Again, I’m torn.
Lauren´s last blog post ..Dream State Escalate: 37
I totally get what you are saying. And I agree. Homeless people are better served by free clothes than even $1 t-shirts. But then give away t-shirts of all brands…not just AF in order to prove a point…particularly when the underlying reason THAT PERSON is getting THAT SHIRT is because they are the least cool people we can think of for the purposes of social commentary. :(
yeah, totally makes sense.
Bla bla bla. Get to the point. Two wrongs don’t make a right. End of story.
If you’ve ever read my blog you would know I’ve never been accused of brevity. ;)
Thanks for stopping by!
Excellent troll deflection. :)
This isn’t my first rodeo. :)
I really liked this post. You make a very strong point. I have never shopped there for myself or my children simply because I will not waste money on a name. That is all you are buying. They do not make any better clothes than anyone else. I am disgusted by the CEO. A man who says things like that is not a nice person, and has never been a kind one. I would love to do a “Pretty Woman” on some sales people at that store.
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I agree 100%, Jeannette. I am absolutely appalled by A&F, but had the same reaction to the video as well. I agree that Karber probably had the best of intensions, and hey – at least he’s doing something about it, right?! But yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Homeless people do NOT deserve to be the brunt of this joke, nor should we be talking about “the #1 brand of homeless apparel.” Again, this is nothing against Karber, but I’m with you – I can’t and won’t #fitchthehomeless. However, I’ll ABSOLUTELY #ditchthefitch and ask everyone else to do so as well. It goes without saying that I won’t be shopping there ever.
Has anyone thought to get a homeless person’s opinion on this? I mean, if I were homeless, I think I’d say, “yeah, screw that guy, I’ll wear your shirt.” I’m guessing it’s a mixed bag though… some would want to stick it to the man and others would be offended. I don’t think I like the idea of people arguing over whether or not a homeless person should be given clothing or not, whatever the reason. I think to really respect the homeless, we should give them the information and the ability to choose. Nothing is more empowering than choice.
We aren’t arguing about whether free clothing should be given to the homeless. We are concerned about the lack of respect shown to the homeless in this video. Essentially the homeless are portrayed as the ultimate low in society to get back at A&F’s snobby CEO. The people in this video are individuals who deserve our respect. Instead they are treated as objects to be used to further Karber’s cause.
As it pertains to A&F clothing, you absolutely are arguing about whether it should be given to the homeless. I go back to my original statement… Why don’t we get a homeless person’s opinion on this instead of speaking for them? That’s the only point I’m trying to make here.
I think you bring up a good point. Although I’m not sure how one would go about that conversation? “Hey, there’s the D-Bag CEO who only wants pretty people to wear his clothes…want this shirt so you can tick him off?” And even if a homeless person said they didn’t care, and just wanted the shirt, is that really a symptom of a larger issue? As in, their worth is already crushed, so who cares that people think they are ugly…they just want a shirt? Kind of like the overweight guy who positions himself as the butt of every fat “joke” not because he doesn’t really care, but because its the way he’s found inclusion? (Whoa…I’m totally psychoanalyzing now!)
I think the end issue is not that of giving away free clothes…because of course that’s an awesome endeavor…for me it’s the giving away of ONLY AF clothes SPECIFICALLY to homeless people for the express purpose of invalidating the backwards value system of a brand. If you want to give a homeless person free clothes (which is obviously better than even a $1 tshirt from Goodwill), then it should be a whole host of clothing labels…and not, as the video puts it “The #1 brand of homeless apparel.” That is specifically the issue here. Round up all of your clothes…toss in your janky AF gear…and give all of it away. Does that make sense?
In the end, I think this whole thing…asking the homeless population on their take of the issue would be a great piece for 60 Minutes or Dateline. :)
Here is a quote from a former homeless person:
“I used to be homeless. If somebody had come up to me and said ‘I’m giving you this shirt because A&F’s CEO only wants cool attractive people to wear his clothes and I want to make him angry’ I would have taken it and walked away with a deep sense of shame and self loathing. That’s the problem with this kind of stuff, people think they’re helping somebody when really there taking somebody who’s not in a position to take the stand you’re taking and slapping them in the face with their own condition.”
Here is a link to his facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesse.sam.1
You could leave the latter out, you know. Stop at ‘cool people’ and give it to them to be inclusive regardless of their social standing.
Yes! My thoughts exactly.
Three cheers! This is awesome. Thank you for putting things in perspective.
I thought at first, that it was fantastic, then by the end of the video I couldn’t help but think about how people were being used. And I didn’t like it anymore. Anything that excludes people is no good to me.
I certainly see your point, but giving the clothes to Goodwill just because there’s sensitivity to “using” the homeless as the butt of an internet joke is not going to do several things. It won’t change society’s perception of the homeless (a perception that I do not share). It won’t change the fact that they could really use the clothes. It won’t change the fact that they wouldn’t be able to afford them even from a thrift shop.
It does however, insult the CEO of A&F because in his warped brain, these are the last people he would want to see in his clothes. Regardless of what the perceived insult is to the homeless, they could benefit from this more than simply ditching the Fitch.
You’re right. It won’t change society’s perception…but maybe that’s the problem with this whole campaign? The fact that it went viral without anyone even realizing that it was problematic? That it was okay to essentially label an entire population as the antithesis of cool, beautiful and popular…without even realizing it? I honestly believe that the average person who shared the video (and probably even the creator himself) never imagined those were the implications…but it’s such a deeply seeded perception that we don’t notice even as it’s happening all around us.
There’s gotta be a better way to insult the CEO. And I’m kinda all for that. :)
You’re right, of course. And it’s a good practice to consider the implications of what is being endorsed by what we share. It’s easy to get caught up in sharing anything viral. I think (hope) the guy probably didn’t intend for it to say anything bad about the homeless, but of course, the very premise of it does. Way to go, Jeannett, making people think.
A friend of ours from church used to work there (no comment) and told us that they get around the discriminatory hiring practices by calling their sales associates “models.”
The idea of being thoughtful about where you spend your dollars is so important. When I was learning about Fair Trade issues, I read something about how the vote we cast with our wallet is more impactful than the vote we cast in the ballot box. Because politicians and policies are driven by dollars. It’s an ugly truth. The reason there is slave labor is because people are spending money at places who sell products made with it. It would require a whole paradigm shift in the way people live, to think about where they are spending their money. We’d have a lot less stuff, that’s for sure.
If this hashtag does anything, I hope it reveals AF’s morally deplorable business practices (not just its naked advertising) to people who might not flinch at the sex, but who flinch at the CEO’s practices.
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i had a bit of a problem with the end ask of filming the act and sharing it – that is the problem, but giving clothes to the homeless doesn’t make them the butt of a joke. I’ve given clothes to homeless people personally and donated clothes to organizations. I don’t need a pat on the back, just doing it was the reward. Does that make the homeless the butt of a joke? I don’t think so. I was simply helping out another human being (I only rarely give money to panhandlers for a frame of reference). I don’t see a problem with including any and all A&F clothes to that.
Copy/pasted from above comment:
I think the end issue is not that of giving away free clothes…because of course that’s an awesome endeavor…for me it’s the giving away of ONLY AF clothes SPECIFICALLY to homeless people for the express PURPOSE of invalidating the backwards value system of a brand. If you want to give a homeless person free clothes (which is obviously better than even a $1 tshirt from Goodwill), then it should be a whole host of clothing labels…and not, as the video puts it “The #1 brand of homeless apparel.” That is specifically the issue here. Round up all of your clothes…toss in your AF gear…and give all of it away.
I just gutted my closet and gave away the clothes to a friends church. They will be handing out the clothes to the homeless. Most of the stuff is Eddie Bauer, super nice, super expensive and stuff I totally can’t fit into. I would rather the clothes go to someone who could use them, than to have them sit around, unworn. If I had A&F, I would donate them to the pile, not to piss off a company exec, but because I don’t want them anymore. I’ve worked in a shelter, and donated clothes directly to the folks our agency was helping. Our family was homeless when I was a teenager. I can tell you first hand that the commenter above was right: “I used to be homeless. If somebody had come up to me and said ‘I’m giving you this shirt because A&F’s CEO only wants cool attractive people to wear his clothes and I want to make him angry’ I would have taken it and walked away with a deep sense of shame and self loathing. That’s the problem with this kind of stuff, people think they’re helping somebody when really there taking somebody who’s not in a position to take the stand you’re taking and slapping them in the face with their own condition.”
I stopped buying A&E when I tried shopping there with my brother and heard the cashier tell him that they don’t make A&E clothing in his size because they didn’t think it would look good on larger people. He was so hurt. I see a large clothing drive event at church starting to form in my brain .. want to help?
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I’d rather not give A&F clothing to the non popular kids because that’s just labeling them as dorks, fatties, and showing them they are lower than you, and I’m sure they already feel this way. Donate your A&F to the homeless shelter! The people there need it, and it’s better than bullying others.
Love this! Thank you for this post!
I have been volunteering for Younglife for years now and every year I have kids who are trying so hard to fit into the “norm” but what is normal?! I always say that if we were all the same the world would be a boring place!
We need to stop judging people all together! People who live on the streets are people too and need to be treated as such.
Thank you!! This made my day!
I found this article through Kimmie of Sugar and Dots. I had no idea that this was even going on. Thank you for bringing my attention to the issue and for sharing your thoughts. I 100% agree!!
Christina Steward´s last blog post ..Three Years Ago Today
Great post Jeannett! It’s more about our attitude in giving to the homeless, to help them, or make a point by showing one of the “lowest” people in the clothing. The biggest issue I see here is the sensationalizing and publicizing of the whole thing. That’s the part that may get the attention of A&F, but it’s also the part that’s the most offensive. It’s a despicable company that has shouted sex to our culture for years and no one cared, and I would love them to reap some consequences for all of their actions, but not at the expense of anyone. Give the clothes to the homeless if you’re truly trying to help them, I guess. I think I would just burn them, but I have NEVER shopped there! Yuck! Thanks again Jeannett!
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Although I totally agree and see your point, the best thing anyone can do to help the homeless is get off their computers and physically go where they are. Serve them food, talk to them, pray with them and treat them with dignity. Need a place to start? My family has been running a non-profit homeless ministry in NYC for the last 20 years. Go to http://www.reliefbus.org to see what is happening with the homeless and hurting and where you might best help.
YES! Thank you for all your hard work!!! Love what you guys are doing!
I appreciate the sentiment, and I respect the zeal, but in the end I don’t agree. Some are offended by eating meat offered to idols. They don’t shop at the shambles; they boycott. Others take the discount. They enjoy their liberty and yet will forgo if it means stumbling those with weaker faith. You see, the truth is it goes to motive. And there’s nothing wrong with excellence. There’s nothing wrong with a brand aiming high in terms of clientele. There’s nothing wrong with staying trim, working out, or being beautiful. I’m a missionary to Africa. I’m all about sacrificing for “the least of these.” But that doesn’t require going to war against people or brands who want to look fine. It’s not a zero-sum game.
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that perspective (and that book which I will be looking into).
You make some valid points, for sure and I’m honestly surprised A&F aren’t being sued for discrimination. As far as I thought, they couldn’t deny people jobs based on how they look. Did that law get overturned somewhere that I’m unaware of?
Anyways, thanks again for sharing your perspective. Quite enlightening.
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I think I read somewhere that they get around it by calling them “models” as opposed to “sales associates”.
Oh, well, that would certainly make a difference wouldn’t it? (Gag)
Christin´s last blog post ..6 Tips to Keep Your Home Smelling Fresh
Something tells me that you would have the exact same view of The Dove ad that went viral a few weeks back. Things are not always what they seem. I so appreciate your take on the video, which I agree with. And just like my view of the Dove ad when somebody told me that my opinion was in the minority, I retorted to no one in my car on the way home, “Just because my opinion is in the minority, makes me opinion NO LESS VALID.”
I like you. Just found your blog. And will be checking you out.
:0)
Totally.
great response, jeanette!
Spot on! Great post Jeannett! I’ve never shopped there and never will (too old now anyhow). #ditchthefitch – love it!
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Thank you for so elaborately expressing the thoughts that I resonate with. I didn’t think beyond “I feel conflicted about unintentionally labeling the homeless ‘uncool’.”
I think my kink is the fact that homeless are the uninformed and non-consenting participant. How do they not deserve to be asked to consent to how they’re being *used*? Some are probably excited to be a billboard for this cause, and some would be upset. (A&F didn’t directly call out the Homeless. So the filmmaker is the one making the decision that the Homeless are not part of the cool kids. As it might be a natural thought to many, you and I aren’t ok with this.)
Every time you hand an A&F to a person (homeless or overweight), you are saying “It is MY opinion that you’re one of the uncool kids.”
Thank you, Jeannett!!
See now, I didn’t get all that from the Fitch the Homeless thing at all. I saw a guy who was outraged by rudeness, decided to do something about it and invited others to help. Kind of a: “You won’t share your product with everyone, discriminating against others for something they have little or no say in, arrogant company. Fine, I will change that.” Isn’t it the same thing as people making quilts for kids in hospitals or wounded vets? Or a civil rights protest? So do we stop helping others because someone might feel “targeted”? Should we walk up and give a homeless person a shirt and say “here, you get this because you’re not who the company would want to have it”? Of course not. But then, I wouldn’t walk up and hand a paraplegic vet a quilt and say “here, you get this because someone blew your legs off” either. That’d be rude. (And I didn’t hear the guy in the video giving out clothes say anything rude to those receiving either.) Always give with love.
So, he shared a video about why he’s doing that, big deal. Charities everywhere have websites and videos. That’s how you get your cause out to the public. Yes, the best thing you can do is to stop buying from that company or any company that has practices you disagree with. I refused to buy from them back in college when they started putting out catalogs that were just shy of porn. But visual reminders for the other companies and for people passing by are not necessarily a bad thing and a pretty common practice for causes. I think you read far more into the video then the maker intended.
Get over yourself! How is it that you can get SO worked up over this? Have you asked a homeless person if they had an issue with getting the first new pair of pants they’ve had in years? Or if it made them upset that this guy put a video of them online, encouraging others to bring clothes to the homeless? Wow. Talk about your petty, first world problem! Something good happens out of something bad in the country and it’s attacked every which way. We just can’t let it be. The guy that made this video now has to be slain and shut down but the TERRIBLE thing he’s done by giving clothes to the homeless.
What did YOU do to help the homeless in your city this week?!
My husband and I carry gift cards in both of our cars at all times to hand out and we oftentimes also have bags of toiletries to hand out as well. In addition, when out as a family, it is common for one of us to invite a homeless person into a nearby deli to allow them to choose any meal they would like to have. As a family, we are actively involved in providing (even in small ways) for the homeless population.
Also, this isn’t about free clothes. It’s about a specific brand being singled out to be given for the purpose of proving a point. It’s not simply “here, sweet soul. is a t-shirt to keep you clothed”…it is “hey, you are uncool and it would piss off a CEO if you wore this shirt…take it and let me video this whole thing and post it on the web!” Not exploitative at all.
Cool. I am sure the homeless would rather go without so you can uphold your philosophical ideals, because after all, that is more important than warmth and health. First World Mentality: “I was going to give the half a sandwich I didn’t want to that homeless guy over there, but giving him my unwanted sandwich just didn’t seem right. Like I am telling him “This is trash I don’t want, so what does me giving it to that guy say about how I feel about him? Like he is a trash can.” So I threw it in the bushes instead. I feel much better about myself.”
I think your post brings up a great thought about how we view the less fortunate. While I do understand how you see this campaign as problematic, I do wonder whether we do this every day without making it so publicized. When we donate clothes, we give them our outdated, unfitted, maybe even mildly tattered clothing. Yeah, it’s great that we’re not burning the clothes, but would we ever give away that brand new sweater that we got on sale? Or those pumps that we love so much to a women’s battered center? We never think twice about the quality of the clothing we are giving away, because it’s a charitable thing that we’re doing, and isn’t that in and of itself an act of putting homeless people lower than ourselves? People were amazed when they heard the story about the homeless man returning a woman’s engagement ring, and she raised over 100K for him. Would we do that for any random person with a good job and a home who did the same thing as this man? I don’t think this guy should be chastized for being honest about how many people perceive homeless people. However, I DO agree that he could send his message across in a more sensitive way instead of targeting homeless people as the pure opposite of beautiful, cool, and popular.
Although I agree with your article, and how this can be seen as insensitive or offensive to homeless people, I believe that it is unfair to donate it to a goodwill or value village because most often homeless or poor people cannot afford to shop from these places, which is why I donated mime through an organization through my nearest church. I believe giving the clothing to the homeless isn’t a message to the CEO saying, hey look at this homeless guy wearing your shirt! You suck! I believe it is more of a equality statement. Hey look at me, I have the right to wear your shirt just as much as anyone! I believe it is a stand that we are taking, and the publicity through social media not only is significant to the as you said “ditching of the fitch” but in order to educate Mr.Jeffries of what we are all thinking , and what actions we are taking. This viral amount of #fitchthehomeless data on social networking sites are making him sweat, he is a total jerk. Thank you for posting this article, it has opened my eyes to a different perspective on a now global movement.
It is insulting and forgets that there are better ways to donate items that homeless actually need.
Meghan´s last blog post ..The homeless do not need your old Abercrombie & Fitch skinny jeans
I read this from EsperGamma on YouTube comments below #FitchtheHomeless and liked it. Thought I’d share, “If you tell them why you’re giving them clothes (because it wants to exclude poor & overweight), they will probably agree to wear them, simply because it’s empowering:”this guy doesn’t think we’re worthy, let’s show him” the same way other minorities like to be empowered against whoever wants to exclude them. The key is to tell them. And then AF will lose its appeal to the douches who think that the poor are unworthy.”
I thought I was the only one who thought like this. Thank you!!!
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Honestly, I think this speaks a little more about how you view the homeless. As someone who has spent years working and volunteering with the homeless I did not view the people in this video as a “joke”. Perhaps you view them as the lowest in society? I get the message you are trying to say…. But really, the man behind the video had good intentions. Can’t we leave it at that?
While I see where you are coming from, I don’t whole heartedly agree. I don’t see it as a way of exploiting the homeless. I see it as a way of giving the homeless clothes that they wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise, and in the process getting rid of A&F clothing and doing something GOOD with them.
The reality is, there are a lot of homeless people in this country. Giving them clothes and not letting them go to waste, instead of just “getting rid of them” isn’t exploiting anyone. It’s getting rid of a brand you no longer want and helping the homeless with clothes. It’s a win-win.
Anna´s last blog post ..“Faith that is subject to circumstances is like a fair-weather friend; as soon as the good times are…”
I’m back…. I tend to be the person who is always rooting for the underdog… and I guess I felt like this post was taking something that was meant to be positive and turning it into a negative. So apologies for my hasty first comment.
I want to add, If people want to help the homeless, donate items to shelters, spend time at shelters volunteering, donate money, and truly get to know people who are “homeless”. When you see someone who is hungry – buy them lunch. If you see someone needing a coat – buy them one. Get to know the homeless. You will be blown away. You will fall in love.
ok so if you’re suggesting to give items to all the … let me quote this right!
“And you know, let’s not only do it, but let’s take pictures of the fat, nerdy, socially awkward kids wearing his clothes and let’s share it! Twitter! Facebook! Pinterest! We’ll show HIM! HaHa Sucker! There’s your cool clothes and the biggest, ugliest dork we could find!!! BOOYAH!”
So if kids see this and are in school and you happen to give one of the AF items to them, what are they to think about themselves? I understand what he is doing wrong, but what makes you think that “only pretty, beautiful people” buy his items. Just stop buying AF period! He after all is winning in this because whose product are you endorsing! He Wins!
Just buycott them already.
Nofyah´s last blog post ..Mexican Deep Fried Ice Cream
Thank you sooo much for your thoughtful and well-explained response. I was thinking this when I watched the #FitchtheHomeless video, but nowhere near as eloquently as you’ve put it down in “print”. :)
Good job. This is why I quit shopping at Target.
I absolutely agree with your take on this. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how our purchasing decisions impact the bigger picture, and about the true cost of the goods we buy. Like, sure, we may pay 7 dollars for a teeshirt at Target, but what is the cost of that tee to the person who manufactured it (in, perhaps, a Bangladesh factory?)
I live in Indonesia where examples of gross injustice terrible morals abound, and for the past several months I’ve been working on a project that serves to make a step in the right direction, to produce garments that actually lift people up and do not take advantage of the week and the poor.
I can sense a sea change may be in the works. Let’s hope so.
erica @ expatria, baby´s last blog post ..I <3 Neon
And there are some who probably bought more A&F just to give away to some “unsavory” group….wait, didn’t that just add to A&F’s bottom line? Oops…
I agree, boycott the company altogether.
nice idea but the fact is the “ugly kid” or an overweight person may have enough money to afford clothes, a homeless person needs to clothes, so why not give them A&F? also A&F gets their materials from companies that use slaves FYI, so yes ur cotton in ur A&F shirt was literally picked by slaves who are beaten starved and murdered if they dont work for free
I feel like if I were in a homeless person’s situation I’d be ok both getting the free shirt and mocking A&F. I look at it as owning my situation. I think if you just simply clue them in on the agenda and they agree then problem solved. I could flip this argument and ask, do you feel the homeless can’t think for themselves and you need to step in and think for them? But I’m not truly being this sensitive or trying to imply that you are just wanted to throw in more thoughts.
I like this blog, it’s a good read and thought provoking. Good writing!
This was a thoughtful, interesting response to the A&F videos that I hadn’t really thought about. Thanks so much for sharing.
I know you were nervous about the response to this post. I, for one, think it was brilliantly written, and I 100% agree! Good job, girl!
Monica @ The Writer Chic´s last blog post ..Rock Star
Wow, you go girl. Great point!
This is EXACTLY how I felt when I saw the #fitchthehomeless video. Thanks for sharing this, I love it.
#DITCHTHEFITCH
I really think all of this hype about the clothes is just stupid. So what if they want to only have skinny people wearing their clothes. I am a mom of 3 daughters who all wear these clothes, plus many other brands. We are not the name brand kind of family we just go for whatever looks good and is priced right. Getting mad at the company for wanting a certain type of person to wear their clothes is ridiculous. If you don’t like their clothing line don’t buy it. I am a heavy person and not able to wear the sizes they offer but I know this when I go in the store along with many other stores. This entire movement makes about as much sense as skinny people getting mad at a plus size store because they don’t have items that fit them. Get over it people. You are feeding the company and giving them exactly what they want with all of the hype.