A&F and The Relief Bus

There has been quite the internet uproar over the past week or so, all about Abercrombie & Fitch, their policies, and their CEO’s public statement.  I have been following along, and have compiled a list of posts to read that follow the development of the story, and end with an interesting twist.

First off, this article gives a little bit of the original story, and follows it up with a social media campaign video that someone has started in protest.  The whole story blew up and even Ellen got in on the action!

Then, the critical thinkers grabbed onto the story and the #FitchtheHomeless campaign, and opened the eyes of the blind followers, reminding people that by relegating A&F clothing to the homeless, it is the same kind of discrimination that A&F is doing in refusing to make larger sizes and burning their defective merchandise.  You can read some of these opinions here, here, and here.

Finally, a friend of mine who works in inner-city New York with The Relief Bus, an organization that works to assist the homeless, posted a co-worker’s response to the whole issue.

Personally, I came to the same conclusion as the critical thinkers, recognizing the discrimination in the #FitchtheHomeless campaign, even though it is ironic and feels like a way to ‘stick it’ to A&F.  I have never shopped at A&F, and do not plan to in the future, and I hope that more people will also make this choice following this week’s media storm.

Did you hear about this kerfuffle over the week?  What do you think?