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Why is anyone still shopping at American Apparel?

American Apparel has been celebrated as a young, socially responsible company that rejects sweatshop labor and pays its workers well. This is all true. But for those of you who missed the Jane article documenting the bad behavior of AA’s founder, Dov “Walking Erection” Charney, here it is. Jane is also doing a little poll to see if the article about Charney (in which he masturbates in front of a female reporter, among other things) influences anyone’s decision to shop at AA. The article is interesting, and Jane is a great feminist-leaning mainstream publication, so check it out.

If you don’t live in New York or LA, you may not have seen AA’s ads. They feature out-of-the-mold (but still really beautiful) girls in kiddie-porn-like poses — you can see a few of them on the AA website.

This info was sent to my by Jason Rowe, one of my absolute favorite columnists to ever write for NYU’s Washington Square News. I had the privilege of working with him on the opinion staff, and he’s truly fantastic. His column on American Apparel is a must-read, and if you’ve got some extra time, check out the many other columns he wrote for the paper.

Jason’s column about American Apparel is quoted in this article documenting the latest sexual harassment allegations against Charney, also a must-read. A quick summation of Charney’s major flaws:

Founder and senior partner Dov Charney has been at the center of controversy over his fondness for sex in the workplace. In two separate sexual harassment lawsuits, writes Business Week, “two of the women accuse Charney of exposing himself to them. One claims he invited her to masturbate with him and that he ran business meetings at his Los Angeles home wearing close to nothing. Another says he asked her to hire young women with whom he could have sex, Asians preferred.”

The views he publicly expresses about women are equally dicey. In a Jane magazine article, Charney suggested that women who complain about come-ons at work are suffering from a “victim culture.”

“Out of a thousand sexual harassment claims, how many do you think are exploitative?” Charney asked, before opining, “women initiate most domestic violence.”

[Note from Jill: The quote about domestic violence didn’t come from Jane, but from the Concordia University paper]

And if sexual harassment and sexism don’t offend your left-leaning heart enough, how about the fact that American Apparel has lately been focusing its energies on union-busting?

The UNITE HERE campaign was launched in September 2003. Even though American Apparel workers made higher wages, they lacked certain benefits guaranteed to union garment workers. Stephen Wishart, a senior research analyst with UNITE HERE, writes on its Web site, BehindtheLabel.org, “Issues such as no paid time off, lack of affordable healthcare, production methods, and treatment by supervisors were the main issues of workers trying to organize.”

When American Apparel heard the news, management got tough. Wishart reports, “The company’s activities included holding captive meetings with employees, interrogating employees about their union activities and sympathies, soliciting employees to ask the union to return their union authorization cards, distributing anti-union arm bands and T-shirts, and requiring all employees to attend an anti-union rally. The company’s most devastating tactic, though, was threatening to shut down the plant if the workers organized.”

Any suggestions as to where we can find sweatshop-free, wholly socially responsible clothing?

Again, thanks to Jason for the info. And while this has nothing to do with American Apparel, I also want to draw attention to another project that Jason is working on. In his email to me, Jason wrote, “I’ve moved to Houston, TX to run a Catholic house of hospitality that takes in undocumented immigrants who’ve just crossed the border. The minutemen are coming to town in October, so it should be interesting.” In case I wasn’t clear enough, this guy is really, really cool — he’s a devout Catholic who truly exemplifies the Christian ideals of charity and kindness, and he certainly lives his life in impressive accordance with his belief that all people are worthy of respect and dignity. I’ve asked him for more info on this latest project, which I think is incredibly interesting — I’ll keep you all updated! And again, read his columns.


33 thoughts on Why is anyone still shopping at American Apparel?

  1. I agree Charney’s behavior is appalling. On the other hand, redirecting our dollars to the Gap is hardly a progressive stance. AA still is a better choice than any company that makes its garments in sweatshops in the Third World (or here).

    As you say, we need an alternative — and a boycott only makes sense if we can know with certainty that we are supporting a more progressive company than AA. Despite the anti-union activity and the sleaziness, AA still has at least a redeeming aspect to its business (and its pro-immigrant activism, a controversial stance in these brown-bashing days); I dislike Charney’s behavior but before calling for a boycott need to see an alternative that is demonstrably superior…

  2. Sitting here, reading this in my AA t-shirt is really weird. I got the shirt free when I posed for some shots for an AA store in Taiwan. That feels even weirder. They bought me with free beer and a shirt 🙁

  3. plenty of alternatives exist. there’s no reason at all to direct any dollars their way. Sweatshop Watch has a pretty good list of resources.

    also, buying yr clothes at thrift stores is another alternative. learning how to sew & make your own is yet another.

    y’know, the sexism & harrassment would be enough for me, fuck their “redeeming aspects” – there is no “redeeming” sexist behavior. but union busting is nothing less than promoting sweatshops, just “All American” ones.

  4. I agree with Hugo. I feel better about buying my t-shirts from American Apparel than I do about shopping at GAP or American Eagle (I used to work there) or any of those places.

    Some people would say it is hypocritical to post anti-American Apparel articles and continue to buy things from them, but I think it is the move of a conscious shopper. Acknowledge the problems with where you shop and make other people aware. We can’t walk around naked but we can stop shopping when we REALLY don’t need any more clothing. We can send letters to the companies whose practices we do not agree with. We can inform and educate the people who don’t consider what we do.

    Until we are making our own clothing and growing our own food and walking everywhere, we will be supportive some uncouth business practice. Can we be responsible for everything? Early civilizations were responsible for all of these things so why not us?

    If we digressed to making all of our own necessities would we be wasting our intelligence and ability to create?

  5. Until we are making our own clothing and growing our own food and walking everywhere, we will be supportive some uncouth business practice.

    True, but that shouldn’t lead us to just shrug out shoulders and not try to make positive choices. I am a huge fan of thrifting, but even so it’s very difficult to avoid the labels of companies with “bad” labor policies. It is a real challenge, and can be time consuming if one is super-committed, but is not necessarily a waste of intelligence.

  6. I would shop at a thrift store, except that I might look like the type of aging hipster choad that shops at thrift stores. Or, I could spend $36 (?!?) on something that looked like this. I guess the price represents some sort of masturbating-in-front-of-female-employees-punitive-damages overhead.

    In my mind, there’s only one alternative: steal T-shirts from blood drives and 5K charity runs.

  7. I had never heard of American Apparel before this article, and now I am intrigued by this character that runs the company. Im not sure what the big toodoo is all about. I just finished reading the Jane article and came away thinking, “man, that guy is really open about his own sexuality. that’s cool!” Im not sure what is offensive about his behaviour; That he masturbated in front of a reporter? If the reporter had been disclosing that she was upset, that she asked him to stop, and he didnt, I would of found that troubling. Instead what happened was her asking, “are you going to do it again?” and him responding, “do you mind?”… without protest… which sounds like activity between two consenting adults to me! So what’s the big deal?

  8. If he is walking around waving his penis at employees, this is a problem… especially if he’s not giving raises, and the like, to his employees because they are not interested!

  9. hey jill…

    thanks for posting this. i have been emphatically anti- AmericanApparel for the longest time. aside from being scandalized by the reports of Charney’s inappropriate behavior, their anti-union stance, and the use of underage/non-contract models, i am also extremely annoyed with the fact that they constantly push the idea that they are “sweatshop free” just because the clothes are made in downtown los angeles. the garment district in downtown los angeles IS one big sweatshop.

    having worked in the industry on both the “talent” side (with talent, not as talent) and the production side, i hate AA more for the fact that they’re trying to lie to me so blatantly and less for the fact that they’re doing what most other companies do (not to diminish the sweatshop aspect, but that’s how i feel about it). however, most other companies aren’t approaching young girls on the streets to participate in ad campaigns for under the table pay. these kids don’t have an agent, they don’t have contracts, they don’t have coogan accounts, etc. and there’s no one looking out for them. it’s pretty easy to get taken advantage of in more ways than one when you’re tempted with the idea of appearing in an ad for a major company. it wouldn’t take long before they have their own traci lords story.

    ah. i feel better.

    in other news, i have made it to philadelphia alive. and i hate public transportation. but aside from that, east coast life is decent so far. good luck at nyu law.

  10. No Sweat is a great resource. Other bloggers and I are researching other options.

    Before anyone gets blase about this, let me tell my sordid tale. I wrote a post based solely on info from positive articles from Jane and Mark Morford about the company where I accused said writers of having their heads up their asses. I’m sorry, but summoning a woman to give you head during an interview is sexist, pure and simple.

    Anyway, after my rather mild points protesting employee-fucking, Sheezlebub (who also wrote about it) and I got slammed with trolls all telling the same story in the same words about how they loved their boss. And then I got an email from Charney’s secretary asking me for a meeting. I declined it and frankly, I’m flabbergasted. It’s easier for him to stop fucking his employees and institute union-friendly policies and turn his workplace into a female-friendly enviroment than it is to continue as is and assume PR will take care of it. Meglomania in action, I suppose.

  11. I’m actually debating on a few items at No Sweat after this post today — women’s knit dress, women’s slides, and a black zip-up hoodie. I’ve seen the items in person and they’re very well made.

    I buy most of my clothes in thrift stores, too, so getting brand new clothes for someone other than E is an anomaly and usually revolves around some special occasion or another, shopping catalogues on the internets. But, I am increasingly disgusted by the business practices of clothing manufacturers and am trying to get away from the obvious offenders.

  12. Ok, first thing’s first: Jane is not a feminist magazine. ‘Sassy’, now there was a feminist magazine. Jane is what Sassy always warned us against becoming: just like everybody else. In the last editor’s note, Jane Pratt went on at length about their reasoning for putting Paris Hilton (!) on the cover of their magazine. Basically, she said, Paris Hilton sells copies. So, Jane can use sex to sell their magazine but American Apparell can’t?

    The article you link does not seem to have a single woman in it who is unhappy with their situation. Ok, they’re boss is a freak, but clearly they’re making the choice to be there. I think it is feminist to let women make their own decisions and not to boycott their place of business if they make the wrong one. Obviously if the lawsuits against him are found to have basis, it’ll be another story, but based strictly on the Jane story, every woman in it seems pretty content.

    I also find it kind of amusing that this company pays such high wages but it won’t be enough until they have a union, insuring that no one gets fired no matter what and that no one can work there without passing a union loyalty test. Yeah, the first priority is definitely the employee.

  13. BUY APPAREL AGENTS! Started by two former American Apparel workers who left after the whole union-busting deal. Their shirts are basically the same cut and feel of American Apparel, sweat-shop free and all of that. Two thumbs up for Apparel Agents.

  14. but based strictly on the Jane story, every woman in it seems pretty content

    Because they interviewed every woman at AA, anonymously and out of the presence of their boss.

    You also didn’t read the article too closely if you think the workers want a union so “nobody gets fired no matter what”. It’s great that AA pays above industry scale. That’s still not saying much.

  15. It’s great that AA pays above industry scale. That’s still not saying much.

    These tactics just discourage other businesses from raising their pay. Why would they if it will immediately be countered with demands to unionize?

  16. Jane is a feminist magazine? Here’s a moment when out age difference shows 🙂 I’ve never thought of anything Jane Pratt does as feminist. Her publications are contemporary and have less brain sucking miasma than Vogue, but feminist? Maybe in a Marie-Claire sort of way, but certainly not like Mothering or Ms.

    As to Dov, I don’t know about y’all but always looked to me like he had stepped out of a porno movie set through a 1970’s time portal. I mean, the sideburns, the mustache, the grease look. The masturbation accussation though, wow! I have to read the article now.

    About the union busting … I don’t know but sometimes, I don’t blame people about that. If we’re talking about Andrew Stern’s union is one thing, but AFL-CIO ? There’s another organization that needs some serious restructuring and catching up with the times.

    One of my mother’s first jobs when she came from Puerto Rico to NY in the late 50’s was in a sweatshop. I know a lot of women my mother’s age who worked at sweatshops. A lott of their kids ended up walking into the middle class and going to college. But that was at a time when the dollar was worth something. We have sweatshops not because of immigration (PRicans are US citizens anyway) but because there’s a constant pool of marginally educated and marginally poor working class people.

    Instead of worrying about whether GAP is a good alternative, we need to focus our efforts and attention at making things like universal health care (one of the #1 reasons women get low paying crappy jobs) a non-negotiable priority. Health care should not be a privilege only afforded to union workers. It should be something completely off-the-table for all citizens in this country. If we had better social measures for our citizenry, we would not as a nation look the other way at sweatshops here and abroad.

  17. About the union busting … I don’t know but sometimes, I don’t blame people about that.

    Sure, it’s hard to blame people for interfering with workers’ legal rights, or to use the threat of firing to get them to vote against a union.

    Yes, that’s sarcasm. I’m a little aback that you can’t see the difference between telling employees you’d rather they didn’t have a union, and the kind of tactics AA is pulling–which, by the way, may get them stuck with a union if the NLRB decides they went too far over the line.

  18. These tactics just discourage other businesses from raising their pay. Why would they if it will immediately be countered with demands to unionize?

    Because unions won’t show up until wages get high enough, is that your point?

    Look–the mistake you’re making is that unions do, and should, care only about the paycheck. That’s not the case.

  19. Mythago, but then why would any company even bother with the higher wages part? Nobody owes anybody anything. The only responsibility that companies have under the law is to pay minimum wage. If you think companies won’t do that if it means avoiding unions, you’re just plain wrong.

  20. Re: Karol, Liza, and Jane as a feminist magazine –

    I didn’t mean to argue that Jane is the epitome of feminism in a glossy. Karol, you’re right, Sassy was better. But Sassy went under exactly because it couldn’t raise the ad revenue it needed by being unwavering about its politics. That sucks, but it’s the truth. The fact is that magazines are financed almost entirely by ads, and women’s magazines in particular are financed by ads for beauty products and clothing. In interviews, Jane Pratt has been pretty up-front about acknowleding this. Ad money is the only way that Jane can survive. And the only way to get advertisers is to sell copy, which is why Jane has to put people like Paris Hilton on the cover — another issue that Pratt is pretty honest about. And if you read Jane (I just read the latest copy last night), you’ll see that they don’t shy away from using the word “feminist.” Their writers are allowed to be sarcastic and bitchy and honest — they aren’t celebrity lapdogs. And yeah, they do have fashion spreads, but the fact is that most women in their target age group want to see that in a magazine. Hell, I’m a young feminist, and I like the fact that there’s a magazine that doesn’t separate my life into categories like “the political me” and “the me who likes clothes.” Jane lets you be feminist, and it lets you be frivolous. I think that’s important, and I can respect that a whole lot more than a magazine like Cosmo, which is generally just kind of vomit-inducing.

    So I’m not saying that Jane is the best. I’m just saying that it’s better than most of the other “women’s magazines” on the shelves. And if some woman somewhere picks up Jane because Paris Hilton or Kelly Clarkson is on the cover, and in reading through it she finds feminist ideas that make sense and that appeal to her, and she finds a cool trendy magazine using the word “feminist” in a positive way, then I think that’s a pretty great thing.

  21. See, I disagree. I rather read Cosmo. It’s stupid and empty and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. And, as I remember the tragic end of Sassy, it was specifically because they changed their format to a more mainstream one that it failed.

    I see Jane as liberal, definitely, but not feminist. .

  22. I also find it kind of amusing that this company pays such high wages but it won’t be enough until they have a union, insuring that no one gets fired no matter what and that no one can work there without passing a union loyalty test. Yeah, the first priority is definitely the employee.

    wow, this sounds great! which union is this that ensures you won’t be fired no matter what? and all in exchange for a simple loyalty test? sign me up!

  23. Jill, thanks for posting this. And I’ll second what Amanda said–the AA zombies were out in full force at my blog, Pandagon, and Feministing. It wasn’t unusual to see similar comments posted under different handles.

    The unionization drive was started by the workers because they had no paid time off, no health insurance, concerns about management and the employees’ recourse, and concerns about workplace safety. The pay wasn’t the issue.

    Now they’ve got health care and some time off–which was instituted after the NLRB’s decision.

    I’d shop at thrift stores, but I find the clothes I’ve bought over the years are actually quite sturdy, and have lasted pretty long. I hate shopping though. It gives me a headache, which means I’ll have to be hogtied and dragged to the store once my threads are rendered to. . .threads.

  24. I’d shop at thrift stores, but I find the clothes I’ve bought over the years are actually quite sturdy, and have lasted pretty long.

    By this, I meant that I don’t need to buy anything for a long time.

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