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News > Companies
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Abercrombie's sexy undies 'slip'
No stranger to controversy, retailer is under fire again for controversial children's clothes.
May 28, 2002: 11:42 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Abercrombie & Fitch, the retailer that has been criticized for sexually and racially provocative catalogs and designs, is under fire -- again.

Several consumer advocacy groups said they have sent e-mails to A&F to protest the chain's latest offering of thong underwear in children's sizes with the words "eye candy" and "wink wink," printed on the front.

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In the latest controversy, OneMillionMoms.com and OneMillionDads.com, nonprofit Christian groups based in Tupelo, Miss., said they are calling for a boycott.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: down $0.54 to $29.26, Research, Estimates), based in New Albany, Ohio, has been a frequent target of consumer complaints.

Last year, the youth-oriented clothing retailer angered many consumer advocacy groups with its summer and Christmas catalogs showing sexually provocative teenage-looking models apparently in the nude.

And last month the retailer pulled a line of Asian-themed T-shirts after Asian-American advocacy groups complained that they were a blatant example of racist stereotyping.

 
A&F has constantly caused controversy for its edgy catalogs and designs. (Photo: Abercrombie & Fitch)

The T-shirts carried caricatures of slant-eyed Asians in conical hats along with such slogans as "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White."

A&F said it is not its intention to offend anyone. "The underwear for young girls was created with the intent to be lighthearted and cute," the company said. "Any misrepresentation of that is purely in the eye of the beholder."

So far, the company said it has no plans to recall the underwear.  Top of page


-- from staff and wire reports






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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.