Shine OnGreg Karber gives Abercrombie & Fitch clothes to homeless in brand makeover
Outraged by last week's news about Abercrombie & Fitch? Disgusted that chief executive officer Mike Jeffries made comments about how he only wants to sell clothes to thin, popular and cool people?
Well, so is Los Angeles-based writer Greg Karber who has devised his own way of protesting the company. He has taken the liberty of buying Abercrombie & Fitch clothes from second-hand shops in the city and then giving the clothes away to homeless people in the poverty-stricken Skid Row area.
Karber's viral YouTube video has received over one million views. In it, he walks the streets of Skid Row surprising residents, some of whom seem reluctant at first to take the clothes.
Also see: Not thin and beautiful? Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't want your business
Karber expresses dismay at an alleged company policy to burn, rather than donate, defective clothing because the company doesn't want poor people wearing their clothing.
Evidence of said policy surfaces in a 2010 Gather article in which an unidentified Abercrombie & Fitch district manager is interviewed.
"Any clothing that has any type of blemish, including things such as a stitch missing or a frayed fabric, gets sent back to the company for immediate disposal," says the district manager.
The article alleges that Abercrombie & Fitch receive many requests by non-profit organizations to have clothing donated but the company refuses.
Also see: New petition urges Abercrombie & Fitch to change its anti-plus-size stance
“Abercrombie and Fitch don’t want to create the image that just anybody, poor people, can wear their clothing. Only people of a certain stature are able to purchase and wear the company name,” says the district manager.
Karber's moral crusade against the company has even prompted him to create the Twitter hashtag #FitchTheHomeless, with a call to action for members of the public to hand out , and then Tweet about it.
Whether you agree with Karber or not, you've got to admit, his unique way of protesting the company sure beats the tired old Change.org petition. Oh wait, that already exists.
It even wins over protesting outside company stores with picket signs. Also already been done.
