Dear Abercrombie & Fitch...
It isn't often that I am controversial or express my political views in any public way. It's not that I don't have opinions, I have plenty, it's just that I am normally somewhat reserved when it comes to making them known to the world at large. Lately, however, I have been feeling very frustrated about certain decisions made by the garment industry.
The recent disaster in Bangladesh, which has killed over 1,000 workers, really got to me because it was preventable. The garment industry and retail kingpins in North America turned a blind eye to what they KNEW was a huge safety issue... but they chose profit over the relatively small expense of ensuring these innocent workers were protected even to a laughably minimum level compared to North American standards. These decision makers could have easily approved measures to ensure the basic safety of these poor workers, and still driven their Bentley's home...
Enter the revelation of comments by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries that were recently brought to light on new sites and social media. The comments affirm a policy that women who wear sizes XL shirts or are larger than a paltry size 10 are not welcome to shop in their establishment. (I've included a link below to a Forbes article if you are not familiar with these comments)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2013/05/13/abercrombie-and-fitch-v-dove-or-how-a-ceo-can-wreck-a-brand-in-1-interview-7-years-ago/
To add fuel to this fire it had earlier been reported that Abercrombie & Fitch has a policy to destroy any unsold clothing in their inventory rather than donate it to people in need because it would be bad for their brand. (It turns out they are not alone in this policy by the way.)
So what can a small time photographer in Calgary, Alberta do about all this...
I was struck with the idea to drive to my local Abercrombie and buy some t-shirts and give them away to the demographic they fear so much. After venturing into their store (for the first and last time) I purchased a few shirts and struck out for downtown Calgary. It was a beautiful sunny day and it took me less than five minutes to meet Randy. Randy was minding his own business and so I introduced myself and told him what I was up to. I asked Randy if he would be willing to pose for me and that he could keep the shirt afterward, he happily agreed. I had brought some pieces of cardboard and a felt pen with me and quickly wrote "Too Poor for this Shirt" on it. We found some open shade and I took one picture... then I heard a voice asking what we were doing. It was the local business owner and he ordered us to move away from his establishment! I must admit I felt very excited as I'd never been kicked of a location before for my photography. I felt like I had made some right of passage, I felt like a real photographer. It was wonderful. Thank you Randy!
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| Randy |
After my encounter with Randy I walked down to the pathway next to the beautiful Bow river. There I met Ron. I approached Ron because he wasn't wearing a shirt, so I thought he'd probably appreciate one. Ron, as it turns out, had just come to town to help his daughter who was at the homeless shelter. Even in poverty there is generosity... I felt humbled by this. Here, I was assuming that Ron was down and out but he was trying to help others too. When I explained my project Ron quickly agreed and gave me a great pose. Thank you Ron.
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| Ron |
I met Brandis next. I had written "Too Fat for this Shirt" on another piece of cardboard and honestly I was afraid to show it to her. I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Who was I to ask someone something so personal and so sensitive? Brandis, however, was amazing. When she saw the sign she exclaimed "F#@k them, I've got big titties and I'm not afraid to show them off!" She eagerly grabbed the sign and put on the shirt after (somewhat discretely) removing the top she was wearing... while I found other places to look! Thank you Brandis. You are beautiful, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
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| Brandis |
Thanks for reading my little rant. Feel free to share these images as much as you can. Companies like Abercrombie & Fitch need to know that we don't accept their out-dated prejudices and discriminatory attitudes.
Mike Heywood - May 9th, 2013
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