Please don't #FitchTheHomeless

In the last few weeks, Abercrombie & Fitch’s CEO Mike Jeffries has been getting some less-than-reputable publicity. Following statements defending the company’s exclusionary sizing protocol, an interview has surfaced with information that A&F goes so far as to routinely deny requests to donate clothing to those in need. Rather than give clothing those who are less fortunate, A&F maintains their staunch commitment to the company’s pristine, “all-American”, cool-kid image.

One anonymous A&F District Manager was quoted in an interview saying, “Abercrombie and Fitch doesn’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.”

Abhorrent. Repulsive. I think we can all agree on that. Judging from the state of social media, we all do agree on that.

In response, some have taken to ranting. Others, like Los Angeles filmmaker Greg Karber, have taken to action. Karber has launched a movement to “readjust” Abercrombie & Fitch’s image, coined #FitchTheHomeless.

His short film shows clips of Karber purchasing up all A&F apparel from a local thrift store, driving to Skid Row in LA, and delivering the clothing to the homeless. While it's a seemingly laudable way to provide clothing for those in need while sticking-it-to-the-corporate-man, I’m afraid that Karber’s “charity” has done even greater damage than A&F’s statements and policies.

For starters, let’s look at his movement’s name: #FitchTheHomeless. From square one, this movement was never about clothing people who are in need. It’s about thrusting what Karber himself refers to as “douchebag” clothing into the hands of scores of the nameless, faceless homeless.

Clips of Karber handing out the clothing show him placing pieces of A&F clothing onto the personal belongings or into the hands of the people of Skid Row and briskly moving along to the next token “homeless person”, leaving them with an new t-shirt or pants (nevermind if the clothing actually fits them) and a puzzled look.

Sure, Karber’s readjusting the brand name, but at the expense of the further dehumanization the people of Skid Row. We never hear from a recipient. We never learn their names. We never see more than a brief pan over their befuddled, care-worn faces.

Karber’s movement, with every retweet, share, comment, and like, drives the public’s image of the poor further and further away from the truth that these are people with names, personalities, and stories. Rather, we foster an image that destroys the humanity of marginalized people.

Consequently, we define these people by a lack of material wealth and then proceed to give them our unwanted (and now despised) clothing. Following the collective statements of A&F leadership, I think it’s fair to say that A&F’s critics wouldn’t be caught dead in A&F clothing. Just image the judgment from our peers! So instead we push the very clothing that represents bigotry, discrimination, and exclusion onto the marginalized. Sounds like a great way to value the people we claim to care about.

Unfortunately, this blog post will probably only reach a few people while Karber’s video will flood the public’s eye. But to me, that’s fine. Even if this entry causes only one person to think twice about the ways that we represent and misrepresent our vulnerable brothers and sisters, it’s completely worth it. I’m confident that the conviction of a few can change more ideas and policies than we think possible.

“Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

-Margaret Mead