Editorial

Parents, do you know what clothing catalogs your teens are reading? If they include Abercrombie & Fitch, you will be in for a shocking revelation when you find it.

"Pictures hotter than a backyard barbeque!" That’s how trendy clothier Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) describes its summer 2001 catalog with the theme, "The Pleasure Principle."

The 280 page quarterly, sold for $6 at A&F stores, is closer to a pornographic publication than a merchandise catalog. The Washington Times reported on June 22 the book includes "120 photos of naked and near-naked coeds in sexually provocative poses." Even more graphic descriptions are reported in the news story, but I believe quoting them would be inappropriate for a family newspaper.

The company maintains that college students are their target market, and the catalog is a work of art. Spokesman Hampton Carney says, "We liken it to Norman Rockwell. It’s so beautifully and tastefully done. It’s fun, beautiful, healthy images and it’s sexy. It’s a chronicle of the college experience. It’s very wholesome. It’s very clean. It’s treated just like a magazine."

A&F has a history of publishing racy catalogs targeted to young people. Starting in 1997, the Ohio-based company shifted from a typical, free clothing catalog to a publication filled with erotic pictures and other features.

After a 10-year-old in Michigan bought a catalog in 1999, the state attorney general ordered the company to stop distributing it to minors. When Illinois Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood found her 14-year-old daughter’s 1999 Christmas issue (theme: "Naughty and Nice") she was so outraged she called for a consumer boycott of A&F and created a web site to that end (www.stopAandF.com). For those who may doubt the truly pornographic nature of this catalog, Lt. Gov. Wood includes on the web site a sampling of the photos, along with strategically placed www.stopAandF.com signs to cover the nudity.

As a result of Wood’s efforts, the company now shrink-wraps the catalog and customers who desire to purchase it in stores are "carded" to check their age–at least that’s the company’s official policy. One pro-family group, however, checked this practice and found that a teen-looking staffer was able to purchase the catalog without being carded.

In Wood’s view, the company has merely used a "series of gimmicks" to give the appearance of response to customer concern while continuing their "sleazy marketing practices." The Lt. Gov. renewed her call for an A&F boycott last month.

What can you do?

1. Take your clothing dollars elsewhere. Then write A&F’s president and tell him you’ve done so.

Michael Jeffries, President

Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.

4 Limited Parkway

Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-5302

Phone: (614) 577-6500

Fax: (614) 577-6565

2. Sign onto Lt. Gov. Wood’s boycott petition at her web site.

3. Tell others about the A&F boycott and encourage them to participate.

The A&F catalog is yet another illustration of the fact that we live in a sexually saturated culture that is constantly at work to undermine biblical morality. Christians should not participate in advancing A&F’s blatant campaign to normalize pornography by purchasing its products.