Here’s a protest I can relate to. It seems that Greg Karber didn’t like it when A & F’s CEO Mike Jeffries said that only “cool kids” and “only thin and beautiful people” should wear their clothing…and Greg was determined to get even. But he wanted to do something positive, at the same time, to, as he says, “Turn this negative urge into something that might be positive for society.” His answer was to go to thrift stores and buy all the used A & F clothing he could find, and give it to the homeless in Los Angeles. (Note that A & F never donates damaged or substandard clothing but burns it instead.) He hopes his action will be an inspiration to others. I hope it will do what he wants it to do, PLUS call attention to the needs of the homeless. That would be a double win.
Some people accuse Greg of using the homeless to re-brand A & F, so that people stop thinking of them as special or “cool.” Sounds to me like the accusers think of a homeless person as a non-person, incapable of being “cool” in his or her own right. Also, if the homeless wearing an identifiable label degrades or defames those behind the label, a whole lot of organizations had better get out there and yank the clothing off of those people’s bodies. (Think 49ers, Giants, Gap, Old Navy, Obama, Bush, Ghandi, and Holy Family Parish.)
By the way, Greg is a So. CA film maker, so of course he posted a video online (http://www.christiantoday.com/article/abercrombie.fitch.homeless.video.receive.af.clothing.greg.karber.effort.rebrand.controversial.brand/32494.htm). – No comment from me on the video.
