The Abercrombie & Fitch clothing size petition

As if teens don't have enough issues to worry about. Fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is refusing to sell plus sizes, however there is a petition making its way around that seeks to end that practice. According to the Yahoo! Shine article "New Petition Urges Abercrombie & Fitch to Change Its Anti-Plus-Size Stance," the petition was created by an 18-year-old who struggled with an eating disorder and felt worthless because he couldn't fit into popular clothing styles. He created the petition on change.org, and it has since garnered the support of the National Eating Disorders Association. More than six thousand people have signed the petition.

A spokesperson for Abercrombie & Fitch declined to comment in advance of the Yahoo! Shine article, but in the past the company has been very unapologetic of its stance on fashion.  It has says it doesn't care about the opinions of anyone other than the target market. Furthermore, they want their customers to be the cool, popular kids. In a 2006 interview for Salon, Chief Executive Officer Mike Jeffries was quoted as saying, "We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

I wore Abercrombie & Fitch clothing when I was a teen. Wearing a brand was the thing, especially A&F. When in malls, you could tell the cool kids, if by nothing else, by the bags they were carrying. The Abercrombie & Fitch bags always featured muscular, half dressed sporty men surrounded by sun kissed, long haired women. I frequented the registers there long before I knew of the morally depreciating values of the company's CEO. I can't imagine wanting to wear a particular brand of clothing only to find out it isn't sold in my size. The retailer sells sizes XS through L, but also carries 0 and 00 on store shelves. Not selling larger sizes is detrimental to the self worth of teens. It is degrading and inexcusable. It is no secret that often plus size people have to shop at specialty stores to find clothing in their size. However, that is usually the case for those who are larger than XL, XXL, etc. Ambercrombie & Fitch doesn't even sell size XL.

All of the press over this petition and Abercrombie & Fitch's stance on clothing sizes may be doing exactly what Jeffries is hoping for. It could be creating a more desirable image of the company in the minds of teens. Who doesn't want to feel like they're part of an exclusive group? Not selling a wide variety of sizes makes an exclusive club of consumers that are able to fit in the retailer's clothes. It would be nice if every teen and parent decided to boycott A&F over their policy and elitism, however that will not happen. If being or looking like a cool kid is as simple as clothing, parents will spend great amounts to achieve that distinction. Still, for the sake of any and every kid who ever felt like they didn't fit in, I urge you to sign the petition or take a stance in someway against the company and against the bullying of our children.