Child Labor at Abercrombie and Fitch
In 1892, David T. Abercrombie founded Abercrombie and Fitch, which mainly sold sporting and excursion goods. Although they were able to remain in business, the company struggled until 1988 when The Limited purchased Abercrombie and Fitch. The owner, Mike Jefferies, changed the clothing line to what is known as a “Casual Luxury” style of clothing. Through the early 2000’s, Abercrombie and Fitch’s clothing was manufactured primarily by child slave labor. These children were often paid very little for their work (the main incentive for using their labor), are forced to work long shifts and work in dangerous areas. In 1999, this amount was $3.05 an hour, where the minimum wage in America was $7.25 and hour.
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From this, A&F created a Vendor Code of Conduct. According to this code, the company actively took steps to make sure there is no human trafficking or forced labor in their factories. A&F also began to review the US Department of Labor’s list of laws to insure they are abiding by the law. They created a verification process that the suppliers must go through to gain the contracts of Abercrombie & Fitch. A new factory that wishes to work for AA&F must go through an approval process, and are monitored frequently to ensure they are keeping within policy through their auditing process. A&F hired a third-party firm who knows the laws monitor these facilities to ensure there is no human trafficking or child labor. Through a certification process, these auditors tour the factories, talk to the workers, review salaries, time sheets and employee age verification papers. These audits are unannounced, and usually happen at least once a year. If a problem is found, A&F is notified immediately. They have a zero-tolerance for human trafficking, forced labor or child labor.
One of the statements in A&F’s Code of Conduct which protects children states: “Abercrombie & Fitch will not tolerate the use of child labor by its vendors. ‘Child labor’ is defined as the employment of persons younger than the age of 14, the local legal minimum working age, or the local
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2 Corinthians 12:14 (NIV) states: “No I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possession but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.” God’s intent was for parents to care for their children. Also, in Romans 9:12, Paul states: “The older will serve the younger.” It seems clear that child labor was not in the original intention of what God had planned for a
In Chicago, around the eighteen-hundreds, there was the desire for cheap labor. Consumer demand for clothes and manufactured products played a big part in this issue. The desire for manufacturers to meet the increasing consumer demand ultimately led to the hiring of children and other individuals. To reduce expenditures, working conditions did not play a major concern in the factory owners’ decisions. These factories were not very safe and sanitation was poor. Oftentimes many of these sweatshop workers were found working many hours a day for a long period of time with very little, if any pay. Florence Kelley was a factory inspector who fought against child labor and the existence of sweatshops. Through her experiences and descriptions, we
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an American retailer that concentrates on upscale casual wear for young consumers, which was founded in Manhattan, New York City in June 4, 1892 by two young minds of David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch. Beginning with a rough journey of selling sporting outfits and excursion goods such as fishing and hunting equipment, A&F had to file bankruptcy in 1977. Soon thereafter, the company was revived after Jake Oshman, owner of Oshman Sporting Goods, bought A&F in 1978. A&F was relaunched as a mail-retailer company specializing in hunting wear and novelty items, but was bought by The Limited ten years after its revival. The gradual shift to focusing on apparels for young consumers began when A&F was a subsidiary of Limited Brands, and since then, A&F has grown to become one of the largest apparel firms in the United States. In 1998, A&F launched Abercrombie Kids, targeting consumers from age 7-14, which further increases its revenue. In 1999 to early 2000s, A&F’s sales skyrocketed as it hit its zenith, by portraying A&F clothing as the “coolest thing” through billboard-winning song that compliments A&F in the lyrics, as well as other advertisements. Furthermore, A&F launched a subsidiary called Hollister to tackle similar age group of target audience but with lower income. This expansion to dominate the market of teenagers through consideration of other demographic factor, namely income, was exceptional for A&F’s revenue. Presently, A&F focused on
Recognized for good-looking, all-American, and typically white male and female clothing models, Abercrombie & Fitch has develop into a special type of model of late-a model of asserted employment discrimination (Stephanie 2005). The clothing idol lately cleared up two private class actions and a civil action law suits by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") by consenting to compensate more than $40 million to African American, Hispanic, and Asian plaintiffs who claimed that Abercrombie discriminated against them (Stephanie 2005); Abercrombie in addition entered into a agreement with the EEOC recognized as a Consent Decree. In Gonzalez, et al. v. Abercrombie, et al., West v. Abercrombie, et al., and EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., the plaintiffs disputed that they were either restricted to low visibility, back-of-the-store kind jobs or laid off and fired on the basis of their race or ethnicity.
Abercrombie & Fitch ANALYSIS REPORT Fundamentals Of Retail Design Group 03 Erik, Herr | I-Chu, Liao | Karan, Shah Kuan-Ling, Tseng | Chen-Hua, Wang ABSTRACT This report intends to analyze the unique brand values, the distinct marketing strategies and the compelling competitive dynamics of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), the noted American retailer of casual luxury wear. The purpose of this analysis being to understand the context and motives that drive brand A&F; to draw insights from it‘s past and current strategies and use these to launch a, new sneaker offer‘ within it‘s existing product ensemble. For doing this, we‘ve researched the story of the brand; it‘s original and potential target market, it‘s financial
During World War II, the United States government published various propaganda posters to help build national pride and gain American’s support to the war effort. One theme that the government focused on was persuading people to purchase war bonds in efforts to “remove money from circulation and reduce inflammation” (U.S War Bonds). When Americans invested in the war effort by purchasing the bonds, the value of them would increase over time. War bonds were a voluntary loan made by everyday Americans on the home front to the government in order to help fund the war and protect the nation’s security. They were seen as a moral act of patriotism. The three posters from above portray the message of buying war bonds during World War II. The authors of these propaganda posters used words and images to provoke the feelings of bravery, sacrifice, and commitment when persuading Americans to purchase war bonds in order to help
Child Labor, once known as the practice of employing young children in factories, now it's used as a term for the employment of minors in general, especially in work that would interfere with their education or endanger their health. Throughout history and in all cultures children would work in the fields with their parents, or in the marketplace and young girls in the home until they were old enough to perform simple tasks. The use of child labor was not a problem until the Factory System. The Factory System is a working arrangement where a number of people cooperate to produce articles of consumption. Some form of Factory system has existed even since ancient times.
Despite Abercrombie & Fitch’s efforts to win back loyal consumers with their new rebranding initiative, the company continues to experience a decline in annual revenue and dismal growth coupled with a poor return on investment, making it a risky investment option for potential shareholders. According to the company’s annual report, Abercrombie & Fitch saw a decline in revenue from $4,116.90 billion in February 2014 to $3,744.03 billion in 2015 with fourth-quarter revenues falling nearly 14% to $1.12 billion (Abercrombie & Fitch 41). The company contributed its dismal report to a decrease in the number of operational stores at the end of Q4 fiscal 2014, weak consumer demand for both Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch, slowing growth in
Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the leading clothing companies in the world. They manufacture
Child labor is historically defined as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development” (Hansan, 2013). Legally, to be considered child labor, work must involve at least one of the following characteristics:
Throughout history children have been used as slaves and workers, but during the industrial revolution the number of child laborers drastically went up. With a hope of a better life families all over the states moved into the cities to find work. Most were disappointed when they arrived and discovered that the truth was not as perfect as they had been led to believe.
While the company may be seeing the start to its decline, past years are proof that Abercrombie and Fitch have made a good name for themselves. How does the industry operate one might ask? There are many sides to the coin when it comes to determining how this company functions, but let’s start with its
During the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s child labor was a social issue that developed in the United States. In the early 1900’s, so many children ages 16 and under were working in American mine and factories. Our kids should not be forced to work at such an early age, they need education and a good childhood that they will always remember. Some children that are as young as 4 years old are being forced to work in crammed, dangerous factories. These factories are full of poisonous fumes and diseases that can obviously kill. Kids as young as 13 are being forced to work around 13 hours a day. Working these 13 hours is exactly what most adults are working at the time. Kids are also earning a lower wage since they are minors, employers
Child labour is not something that just recently evolved. As a matter of fact, child labour dates back to the 1780s and the 1840s, where child labour was predominant worldwide. In 1788, it
The children’s fashion retailer’ sell children’s clothing, 14 years and younger. Their market are parents, grandparents, teens or the children and infant’s relatives. They can be segmented into smaller age groups.
In the United States, child labor and sweatshops are illegal, and society frowns upon any business that exploits children in the production of goods. Though most would say that they would not support a company that uses child labor to produce its goods, almost everyone has, in fact, knowingly or unknowingly, supported these businesses in one way or another. Children are involved in the production of many of the everyday goods we import from overseas, including the manufacturing of clothes, shoes, toys, and sporting equipment, the farming of cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, and bananas, and the mining of coal, diamonds, and gold (The U.S. Dept. of Labor). Often, we are blinded to this fact.