Petition Calls Out Old Navy for Inflated Prices on Plus Size Clothing
The plus size fashion industry already has an image problem. To add to recent controversies, Old Navy has been called out for charging more money for their larger clothes. Now, a Change.org petition is forcing the retailer to speak out on the price differences. But the most shocking revelation isn’t the extra fee; it’s the fact that women have a separate section for “Women’s Plus” and pay more yet the men’s clothes, from XS to XXXXL are all grouped together.
“I was fine paying the extra money as a plus-sized woman, because, you know, more fabric equals higher cost of manufacture,” Renee Posey wrote to Gap.Inc. “However, selling jeans to larger-sized men at the same cost as they sell to smaller men not only negates the cost of manufacture argument, but indicates that Old Navy is participating in both sexism and sizeism, directed only at women.”
As Posey pointed out, the company’s Rockstar Super Skinny Jeans cost $27 in a size 6 and the same jeans sell for $40 in a size 26. For men, the Slim-Fit Jean costs $25 — in all sizes. More than 16,000 people signed plea that called out Old Navy for “discriminatory pricing practices.” Basically, if the retailer is charging more for the added fabric used on plus sized clothing, why isn’t it doing the same for men?
Katelyn Kotsonis has noticed that she spends almost triple on clothing than what a male counterpart of her size, and what a smaller woman, would pay. “I don’t think I should have to rebalance my budget to buy new clothes at the beginning of the year.”
“Old Navy is proud to offer styles and apparel designed specifically for our plus-size female customer, which includes curve-enhancing and curve-flattering elements such as four-way stretch materials and contoured waistbands, which most men’s garments do not include,” a Gap Inc. spokeswoman told BuzzFeed News. “This higher price point reflects this selection of unique fabrics and design elements.”
While Old Navy’s justification seems fair — and maybe even means that they’re paying more attention to an often overlooked market — the plus size industry is still hurting. Calvin Klein casting a size 10 model (who isn’t necessarily plus size but called herself so); Walmart’s “Fat Girls” section mislabeling; Victoria’s Secret’s “Perfect Body” advertisements; and more. It’s also important to note that Old Navy isn’t the only manufacturer to charge more for their plus size lines. But despite all of these issues, it’s interesting to note that all of the most recent controversies have been crowdsourced by consumers unhappy with what they were seeing in stores and online. The times they are a changin’.
