Loading ...
« NYC Fashion Industry 2010 | Home | Fashion Tragedies »
Why We Hate Forever 21, & Why You Should Too
By admins | February 2, 2010
Our animosity towards Forever 21 has grown over the years, from a simple pet peeve to a burning hatred. Online, particularly on “what I’m wearing” type blogs there is a preponderance of fashion loving ladies sporting their Forever 21 gear. It seems young fashion savvy shoppers online and off are continuing to favor our nemesis, Forever 21. It is so hard, when we see a blogger, coworker, or friend bragging about their latest Forever 21 deal, to keep from screaming; “Do you have any idea who or what you are supporting?” We’d hoped for awhile that the despicable chain would disappear, which has been the fate of many retailers this year. However, it seems their evil plot of world domination is continuing. Forever 21 has just announced plans to develop 30 massive department stores across the country, including one in Times Square replacing the Virgin Megastore. So to make it perfectly clear why you should forgo F21 (if you must indulge in disposable fashion, H&M or even Target are better) here is a list of reasons to boycott Forever 21 forever!
- Sweatshop labor in the US – Forever 21 has been running sweatshops in California and using Mexican immigrant labor in subpar working conditions to provide you with cheap disposable clothing. Especially for our LA readers, how can you in good conscious spend money on a product that forces fellow women to work in sweatshop conditions? Several of these women have banded to together and created a must see documentary called “Made in LA”. It is very easy to say “Oh yeah, it may be cheap labor but I can’t afford anything better” and thereby distancing yourself from the issue at hand but watching this documentary and seeing the faces behind your garments should open everyone’s eyes. Additionally, Forever 21 has been taken to the California Supreme Court regarding its unfair labor practices repeatedly. As one factory worker Guadalupe Hernandez explained she earned, “$4 per hour working 10 hours a day 6 days a week in a factory with no running water and no bathroom.” Clearly the cost of fast fashion is too high!
- Sweatshop Labor overseas – As many are not aware, much of Forever 21’s products are not made in their own factories, but rather subcontracted out. F21 finds third party manufactures who produce private label pieces (i.e. with Forever 21’s labels and hangtags) made in subcontracted overseas sweatshops to make the incredibly low price-point that F21 demands. You see, Mexican/American sweatshop labor is far more expensive then that of Chinese, Cambodian, or Bangladeshi workers. Forever 21 has repeatedly faced lawsuits regarding overseas sweatshop labor; however, they avoid the consequences by laying the blame on the third party contractors and deny any responsibilities. Unfair labor practices, child labor, dangerous work environments and the exploitation of women are the true cost of that $12.99 sun dress you picked up.
- Designer copyright infringement – We’ve written before about the legalities of protecting a designer’s original designs and what can and can’t be protected in fashion. Unfortunately knockoff’s and thievery are common place in the fashion industry and if not always illegal they are at least unethical. Please check out our full post here about being inspired by a high-end designers and creating an affordable versions vs. running a business based solely on direct copycats. Bottom line, Forever 21 is the largest offender of creating knockoffs, be it upscale designers or struggling independent designers, F21 is in essence stealing their livelihood from them. They have been taken to the US District Courts for their violations and have been sued over 50 times in the last 4 years alone for copyright infringement!
- Proselytizing and shopping don’t mix – For those of you who are not aware, the owners of Forever 21 Mr. and Mrs. Chang are evangelical Christians and big supporters of Christian missionaries. This, in and of itself, is not a big deal, however they have been accused of discriminating against employees and workers based on religion. Mrs. Chang has been known to take young designers and send them on Christian missions and if they become “born again” they will be promoted and financially rewarded. Have you ever looked at your Forever 21 packaging or shopping bags? Those numbers printed on them are bible verses. Frankly, we don’t need our tube tops and leggings preaching religion to us.
We encourage all of our readers to forward this post on to any of your friends, relatives, and coworkers, who perhaps shop Forever 21 and are unaware of their business practices. We encourage all of you to think about how you spend your buying dollar and support businesses that are deserving. Please check out the clip below from the documentary Made in LA.
Here is more related scoop;
Topics: fashion industry, shop | 74 Comments » 
Email This Post
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:49 pm
F21 is terrible. I’m glad I finally have gotten over the lure of cheap, cute clothing made in some of the most ill of circumstances.
I’m with you guys!! *fist pump*
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Hear Hear.. any thought on how to bring them down from the inside…better yet keep a tally of knockoffs and send those to the original designers… And NO settling out of court, after a while I think they’ll get it….!
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:24 am
Crazy that with all those brilliant reasons to boycott them you didn’t even have to mention the clothing! Their stuff is cheap, looks cheap, and wears cheap. The stuff literally falls apart after a few weeks.
No more, I’ll pass it on!
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:45 am
Brava! Thank you for putting this out there. I couldn’t have said it any better. It always makes me so angry to see what the Chang’s get away with! Hopefully if enough people take this to heart, things will change. I’m off to spread the word…
Cheers!
Suzanne
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:19 am
Thank you for a couple of things…
“what I’m wearing posts” – do NOT get me started on this..
I actually unfollowed F21 on Twitter bc they COPY everything and it’s ridiculous!
I had no idea about “Made in LA”. I am going to check this documentary out.
This was such an awesome post – so important to make people aware of a label’s work ethic.
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:35 pm
I don’t like them in the least but I do have a question – isn’t that what kind of labor EVERYONE has these days?
I just assume if it’s new, and it’s not American Apparel (sexually harassed, yes but sweatshop, no)…then this is exactly how they’re made whether I buy clothes @ F21, H&M, Macys, TG-170, Bird, etc.?
Is that NOT true?
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:18 pm
It’s awful, we don’t have one here in Vancouver so I’ve never shopped there anyways.
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Great information! I just posted a blog about your article–of course giving you credit for the information. I avoid stores like that simply because of the poor quality of the merchandise (I mean really, any store that has a zero-returns policy should be avoided), but it is WONDERFUL to have more dirt on them!
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Wow I wasn’t fully aware that all these issue were going on with the Forever 21. It’s really sad,but then again I used to work for them so actually I can believe it. Mr.Chang has to be the cheapest man on the planet, I mean only 10% off is all the employees get on already cheap and low quality clothing? Come on you call that a discount?!
February 4th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Aside from their sweatshop conditions, working for their stores isn’t much better.
They treat you like crap when you work there. I was there for 8 months and only last that long because I wanted to hold out until I moved for school.
The store’s policies are insane– there were many polices in place that would take away precious break time because following them would cut-out of the time you actually had on your break. For example, the bag search before you left the store for your break… you’d have to first try to find a manager, then you would have to open your bag and open every pocket, wallet, everything– totally exposed in front of the entire store, not to mention taking time out of your “break” since you’ve already clocked out for it by this point.
I could go on & on about how I hated working there, but it would take up multiple pages.
Just not a good company overall.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
You shouldn’t advocate H&M either. Instead of donating their unwanted and/or overstock clothing, they destroy it and throw it away. I read an article about homeless people picking through bags and bags of clothing and only finding one or two garments that were wearable. What a waste!!
February 4th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Ok, another handwringing article. How about the ILLEGAL immigrants do thru the correct process?? Instead of protesting co’s poor working conditions-how about protesting the hiring of ILLEGALS?? As long as this practice is seen to be ok, you and others are encouraging our newest Slave culture, like the lady said: if you are undocumented, you are invisible.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Why is it that when Gap, Inc was accused of this the media and society were in an uproar… and yet this remains unnoticed.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Sarah – the company released a statement regarding that incident, which ONLY took place at ONE store, and said the practice would be stopped and was not typical. Don’t try to put H&M on the same level as F21, unless there’s a lot of concrete proof.
Thanks for the great article on F21 – I’ll have to start weaning myself off their clothing.
February 4th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
As for clothes from forever 21-
who cares if they fall apart on some people or people think they are tacky or what not. A lot of people have been obsessed with this store for years, and now all of a sudden it is almost a fad to ‘bash’ on any store that sells cheap clothing or has anything that provokes the nerves of liberal human beings and people who think that ‘ooo saying im so against forever 21 is going to make me look cool when I show my friends this site’…even though you wear their clothing on a daily basis.
We are college students. We can’t afford designer clothes (unless mommy or daddy buys them) so this store gives us a chance to look good for less, as do many other stores. (every store in america is going to have a complaint about it, even the ones you self proclaimed “PEOPLES RIGHTS” activists shop at. it’s everywhere. it wont stop.)
And why won’t it stop? because people make the choice to work where the work and if they don’t like it, they don’t have to work there. hell, if i worked in a place that was a sweat shop, I would quit. I could care less if forever 21 went under I could shop other places, but if their workers want to complain they can go find a better job somewhere else, and if they can’t, it’s no one’s fault but themselves. They settle for $4 an hour. If they were legal immigrants, they would be able to find jobs in places that suit the standards set by the US Labor unions. If they are illegal, that is their own damn problem. (Might sound stereotypical, but that is a fact.) I Feel like if this is a true sweat shop, it wouldn’t even be allowed to be established in America. People act like we don’t have inspectors coming around checking these things…..when was the last time you were in a factory/huge building and there was no bathrooms? Really? Don’t you think that sounds somewhat fabricated? Go back to school. Get an education and better your life. And if you’re illegal, get a green card and build your life. But if you want to settle for a sweatshop, that is your own problem.
I hate hypocrits. Not saying that you guys are bc. everyone has a constitutional right to their own opinion, but I found this post on a girls site who frequently shops with me at F21.Fake. Fake. Fake.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Since you’ve never seen it, it couldn’t be true huh? How about you watch the video in the OP. Or watch the PBS documentary about sweat shop labor.
I live in NC and there have been 4 raids in the last year on sweatshop and or farms, where illegal immigrant are kept in giant wearhouses with no heat, ac or plumbing.
February 4th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I agree completely with comment number 15. That person said it all way better than I can. Instead of coming to a site and bashing on this store why don’t you get off your ass and do something about it. Personally I love Forever 21. It has great fashion for less as do stores like Target and H&M. They do the exact same thing as Forever 21. Why not bash on them as well? Or are you too afraid that their lawyers will more than likely put you down in your spot and you won’t seem so strong to the people who support you? So either shut it or do something about it.
February 4th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
I think the illegals are asking for this treatment and cheap labor when they cross the boarder in the first place. They know that they can’t legally find jobs in the US because of their status, and obviously, jobs not requiring real paperwork would pay below minimum wage.
February 4th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
They are doing something about it, they’re raising awareness so that people can make educated decisions. Personally, I don’t want my money to go a company that treats its workers like that, regardless of if they’re illegal immigrants “settling” for work in a sweatshop. Which I doubt they are, life and employment and immigration situations are not that cut and dried. Holytoledo is right, sweatshops are not “allowed” in the US, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. This is not just fed by the workers who continue to work under these conditions, it’s fed by the people who continue to buy the products, who say that them having a cute top for $10.99 is worth someone else’s suffering. Well, to me it’s not worth it, so I’ll choose not to shop where I know it’s happening. Maybe for some of you it is, and you’ll choose to ignore it. That’s you’re choice, but at least acknowlege the role you’re playing in the perpetuation of this problem.
February 4th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
you can’t sit here and tell me that a bunch of people just randomly go missing and are forced to work in factories (if they are forced to work there why are they even being paid?) for a store as big as forever 21 and nothing has been done about it?
1) forever 21 is too big of a company to have illegal shit like that going on…why would they risk their multi-billion dollar corporation forcing people to work?
2) if you know forever 21 is going to pay you 4 bucks an hours and are going to treat you like shit and don’t have a bathroom for you to use THEN DONT WORK THERE!!!! If you want to immigrate to america, do it the right way so that you dont have to suffer like you did back in your country! I want everyone to be happy and successful, but coming to america to prosper and then settle for terrible working conditions is just a contradiction.
3) You’re going to have jerk bosses at every job, at every branch, of every company. It’s easy to call out forever 21 because you think its a ‘fad’ to shop there and just because its what the majority of girls wear, it makes it more ‘cool’ and ‘alternative’ for you to break away from the mold and start a revolution. seriously, this is being protested by the exact people you claim and have claimed to hate. You can’t tell me that every forever 21 is full of torment. Why do people keep working there then???? They have been around since the early 2000’s; obviously things aren’t as bad as the writer is making them sound!
4) If you want to make a difference, get proof of the sweatshops you claim exist and the ‘forced’ labor as well as abuse of employees and get forever 21 shut down forever if you are that passionate about it. America wouldn’t let this happen for this many years, especially to this magnitude with such a big corporation so you should look past the people complaining about how they hate their jobs (even though they chose to work there) and look at if they are actually taking peoples rights away…or are those people giving their own rights away just for a job?
Statements 3 and 4 that you mention should even be spoken about in this article. You are just trying to add bad points to reflect on the terriblness of the treatment they recieve in the factories. In fact, you could have just combined issue 1 and 2 since they are the same thing, except diversified to different countries (but wait, arent the people working in america from different countries anyways?) Copyright/Religion…you guys are liberals; let them do what they want to do in terms of that..who cares-if it offends you, don’t shop there. The only legit argument here, if it’s even true, is the forced labor. If you show me that people are truly ‘kidnapped’ and ‘forced’ to work for forever 21 then I will show sympathy and stop putting your article down. Until then, I strongly disagree with your standpoint. Say you kidnapped someone and forced them to write for your website or you would kill them/hurt them/whatever. Why would you even bother compensating them $4? They aren’t forced. They choose to work there. If they aren’t happy, they can leave or find something different. I’m in college full time with 2 jobs 40 hours a week. If I can do it and they want to be successful too, they can find the tools and go for it. Why should I feel sympathetic for someone that has a job that sucks? They should feel sympathetic for me that I have to pay $100,000 for College, gas, car, rent, bills, food, etc.!! Because I don’t want to be like them, is the reason I shop at Forever 21~so I can save my money and become a better and successful person. So if they aren’t being forced to work and they continue to work there despite the conditions, I don’t mind at all. Just keep giving me inexpensive clothes so I can pay for law school with the rest of the money. THANKS!
February 4th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
i know the economy is bad, but there are jobs available for legal citizens and people living in the united states. just because it might not be the job you want, doesn’t mean there aren’t any available.
I have friends complaining about being unemployed all the time; so on my free time, I print them off applications to stores that are hiring and they are just like, “eh, I don’t wanna work there, too much work” or “I don’t want to work in food” etc. You can’t sit here and be picky if you want a job. But there are jobs available. They don’t have to just settle for a sweat shop; there are plenty of other things. Maybe they are just good at sewing really fast and they enjoy it? you never know. but if they are complaining, why don’t they go to a local library (where internet is free) and fill out applications online for jobs?
That how I have found all my jobs! And if they speak spanish, ok every site and its mother is now bilingual thanks to this mass immigration, even the librarians are probably bilingual to help them search for jobs other then where they are at, and when they find a new one they can give a big “f-you!” to forever 21 and be on their marry way. but no. they either take the first job they can get, or one that keeps them under the radar from the government. Ugh. I just don’t see why we have to do this work for these people. If i had to get off my ass and actually try and try to get a job, why can’t they? The language barrier is not an excuse because they chose to come here.
I am a really loving person, I know this makes me sound like a heartless bitch but i am anything but that. It just makes me upset when people complain, especially regarding this subject, when they made a choice to come to america and they made a choice to work there.
February 4th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
@holytoledoo
Being “forced” to work somewhere is a bit of a gray area. Are they actually kidnapped and chained to sewing machines? Probably not. Are their circumstances and the fact that they’re desperate enough to come to a country illegally and work a $4.00 an hour job because it’s still better than starving at home being exploited? Yes. And in my opinion that’s not okay. Besides the article doesn’t say that they’re being forced, but does indicate that they are being exploited. You seem to think that everyone in the world has absolute control over every circumstance in his or her life and that’s just not true. You’re in college now, but what if you graduate and there are no jobs? Or there are jobs, but every one you apply for has a hundred other applicants? It’s happening all over the country. Will you then have a little sympathy for people who can’t find anything better and have to make do with what they can get?
p.s. I work in law, and in my experience if you can’t muster some sympathy for other people’s crappy circumstances, you’re not going to make a very good lawyer. Just saying.
February 4th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
p.p.s. I just read your most recent post and your friends sound a little spoiled. Don’t judge everyone else by their attitudes about work.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
@holytoledooo:
“They don’t have to just settle for a sweat shop; there are plenty of other things. Maybe they are just good at sewing really fast and they enjoy it? you never know.”
This is a joke, right?
Oh boy.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
My option of the whole situation is individual greed. I don’t believe in a communistic society but I do believe people should have a moral obligation in knowing when enough is enough. This goes to top cooperation’s and countries all the way down to the consumer. I don’t believe fashion is a absolute necessary to a persons life, I believe as a country and culture we elevate it WAY out of proportion than it needs to be. This constant “I need more this and the newest that” to define myself is just getting way out of control. I often hear people say that if these companies don’t do this or that to cut costs than they will no longer be in business or someone else is going to come along and do it to. What they need to do is stop over paying themselves if they really care to allow the actual portion of the industry live a slightly more comfortable life. What the joke is to me is that owners a company like forever 21 that believe in an after life, that they will be judged do not think their god wont look down upon them and their exportation of people, either in the U.S. or over seas where governments are getting fanatical kick backs to allow their countries citizens be used. In the end it’s an individual’s choice to decide that what they feel they can live with in this life or the next if they believe there is one. The excuse that all these other places do it, so what’s the difference is no real excuse at all.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
My option of the whole situation is individual greed. I don’t believe in a communistic society but I do believe people should have a moral obligation in knowing when enough is enough. This goes to top cooperation’s and countries all the way down to the consumer. I don’t believe fashion is a absolute necessary to a persons life, I believe as a country and culture we elevate it WAY out of proportion than it needs to be. This constant “I need more this and the newest that” to define myself is just getting way out of control. I often hear people say that if these companies don’t do this or that to cut costs than they will no longer be in business or someone else is going to come along and do it to. What they need to do is stop over paying themselves if they really care to allow the actual portion of the industry live a slightly more comfortable life. What the joke is to me is that owners a company like forever 21 that believe in an after life, that they will be judged and do not think their god wont look down upon them and their exportation of people, either in the U.S. or over seas where governments are getting fanatical kick backs to allow their countries citizens be used, because why? That they have moneny? In the end it’s an individual’s choice to decide that what they feel they can live with in this life or the next if they believe there is one. The excuse that all these other places do it, so what’s the difference is no real excuse at all.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
if someone can delete my double post, id be thanful.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Thanks everyone for all your interest in the topic and all the comments!
We just have to answer a few points by Holytoledo. Clearly you are very young and naive and have an extremely narrow world view, but since you are a college student hopefully as you mature this will change. Saying people are not being forced to work in sweatshops and should just quit their jobs if they are unhappy is an absurd and simplistic suggestion. Comparing these often third world women, who do not have access to higher education and are often single mothers, to your college friends who don’t want a part time job is ridiculous. Furthermore, regardless of why one works in such conditions these sweatshops should not exists. Just because people are enduring mistreatment (slavery, sexual harassment, discrimination etc) does not make it ok to support it.
Also, did you even read the post? Saying that it’s untrue because you never heard of it and the government wouldn’t let this happen makes it clear you haven’t read the post. They have been taken to court many times and are in front of the Supreme Court in CA and the public is very aware of this, and it has been covered by all major media outlets.
We suggest you read the post carefully and do some research but at the end of the day we have two things you don’t, college degrees and over a decade of experience in the fashion industry working with manufacturers and factories.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I’m tired of that “I’m a college student, I’m poor” excuse for buying crappy, mass-produced clothing. I know lots of college students (I’m involved with a student organization based at my alma mater) who don’t feel the need to blow all their money at F21. I think a lot of F21 customers are buying quantity. If they saved up a little of that money they could buy something of a bit better quality.
Hell, I spent my college years in Danskin leggings, Hanes men’s t-shirts and a couple of men’s shirts I got on sale at Bloomingdale’s. I don’t really have much sympathy for people who think they have the RIGHT to designer looks at rock-bottom prices. God forbid you go through your college years without a fake “Balenciaga” or “Anna Sui” look? Lots of people manage that just fine. Then they grow up, get jobs and buy the real thing when they can afford it.
February 4th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
@holytoledoo
You mentioned your college friends. However, from your posts, it’s very hard to believe that you actually made it to college. It’s because I don’t agree with your passionate agenda, it’s the fact that your view on life is way too simplistic. Do you honestly think that these women want to do this?
You so easily condemn them for not seeking “other options”. This only speaks to how sheltered your life must be, where in your sterilized bubble world the biggest problem is showing up at school with the same outfit as your classmate. I’m glad that in your life you haven’t had to suffer through (or witness) being sick without health insurance, or going hungry for days because your parents can’t afford to feed you, or being terrified that the government will deport you. But you should still respect and understand that these unfortunate circumstances are very real, and many people do suffer them daily.
Don’t think people are outraged because they’re “jealous” that F21 sells such cheap clothing. F21’s abusive labor practices is a serious offense.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:02 am
I’ve been avoiding F21 on 34th Street for a while. I just can’t take the racks packed so tight with clothing I can’t even yank out a top. This alone says a lot about a store and how they perceive their merchandise. I can’t comment on the documentary as I haven’t seen it, but I’m going to watch it. Thanks for the heads up.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:03 am
The day I saw that ridiculous “John 3:16″ on the bottom of a bag from a store full of skanky weekend clothing was the day I knew Forever 21 was a complete joke. C’mon kids — if someone can print freaking bible verses on the bottom of bags containing pre-marital-sex-inducing outerwear while keeping a straight face, they probably are crazy enough to exploit people without any sense of hypocrisy. Jesus loves him some tramps in plastic sunglasses, apparently.
That being said — under-shirt camis are worth $2 (MEN’S undershirts come in 3-for-$5 packages, ferchrissakes), and if F21 is the only place that prices them accordingly, I’ll keep going back for more. The rest of the store might be slutty crap, but those things are freaking amazing.
So, where do I go for some guilt-free clothing that won’t cost me more than I make in a week?
February 5th, 2010 at 12:58 am
I worked at Forever 21 for over a year. They did NOT following the child labor laws (IE. wouldn’t let any employee have over a ten minute break regardless if they worked 5:30 to 6 hours, ect). I despised every moment working there. It’s a corrupt company. However, the prices are affordable which makes me continue to shop there. However, Forever 21 must change their policies and their crooked system.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:18 am
Whyhate the movement is here to help all of you that feels used and abuse by forever21, let send them a whyhate tee shirt. from us to them.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:24 am
@holytoledooo:
I am sorry but I just cannot believe you are in college. If you are, I’m assuming you have lived an extremely sheltered life somewhere in suburbia.
If you are in college, as you claim to be, take a class on the consequences of globalization and migration. Hopefully you will learn something. If not, take your ASS down to Los Angeles and SEE how these people live their lives.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:30 am
@HolyToledo
I have two questions for you…First of all, what is your real name? I think the whole country needs to be put on alert so that they do not hire you as a lawyer (assuming you really are in law school). Second, if you really are in law school, I would like to know the name of that school (the admissions office sure screwed up admitting you, makes me wonder if it was an accredited ABA school). Anyway, those of you who wish to continue shopping at Forever 21 can continue to do since that is your freedom of choice. I find it sad that some of you can just blow off the fact that Forever 21 (and so many other companies like it) participate in abusive labor practices, whether directly or indirectly. There are labor laws for a reason, and they are meant to protect ALL workers legal or illegal. Anyone who thinks otherwise is ignorant. We should all have compassion for our fellow human beings…it seems that as a society many of us have lost the ability to feel compassion for others. @HOLYTOLEDO…As a former law student, I find it extremely disturbing that you may one day be a lawyer. Lawyers are supposed to be advocates for those who need help and to be an advocate you must have compassion, something that you do not possess.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:23 am
The reason F21 can get cheap labor is because Mexico is corrupt and there’s no jobs there. People need to work and feed their families. Mexico is a country full of bribery and corruption. Is that what we want the US to be?
Stop these companies who are corrupt and exploit workers. Low wages means lower wages for everyone, immigrant or citizen.
Boycott F21. You can find better vintage clothing at goodwill or pay a few more dollars for quality.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I work in forever 21 and let me tell you, it’s terrible. for starters, it is about 80 degree’s in the store. It has caused myself and others to become very sick while on shift and the store policy is that, we are unable to leave unless, we are bringing in a doctors note the next day. One of my fellow employee’s had a death in the family and management asked her to show documentation and bring in a death certificate and mind you this is just for a part time job!!
We have absolutely no rights what so ever while working at the store. We are treated subhuman and quite frankly i am sick of it.
February 5th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
I am going to post a link to this post on every single no-nothing “fashion” blog I see plugging Forever 21. They are a blight. Thank you for this EXCELLENT post!
February 5th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
cdbehrle, while I appreciate this link and thought the comment you left me was rather polite, perhaps you shouldn’t call people “no-nothings” then link them to it.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
“# cdbehrle Says:
February 5th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
I am going to post a link to this post on every single no-nothing “fashion” blog I see plugging Forever 21. They are a blight. Thank you for this EXCELLENT post!
# Jael Paris Says:
February 5th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
cdbehrle, while I appreciate this link and thought the comment you left me was rather polite, perhaps you shouldn’t call people “no-nothings” then link them to it.”
Okay. That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen all week. Zing!
February 8th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I think this debate spiraled out of context! Half of you fail to address the real meat of the article which was telling people not to shop because of the wrongful sweat shop like conditions which by the way are HIGHLY illegal.
There are plenty of OTHER cheap stores you “broke” college paying, rent, phone bill etc. could shop at that didn’t treat their workers like shit.
I actually love F21 and not every item is a steal from a designer(I definitely DO NOT buy any item that remotely resembles a designer item, my favorite designer is MJ and they jock his ish every season), nor do I blow my money there. I buy an item when I need something fast and quick!
They have caught a lot of heat in the past and are attempting to clean their image by selling clothes actually designed by their in house.
I think the correct thing to do in order to out their dirty practices is write to the senator of whatever state this is going on in(seems like Cali) and demand that they do something. Us yelling at each other on a blog board isn’t going to change anything!
Go capitalism!
February 10th, 2010 at 1:09 am
To #15 & 17 – You may THINK you look “better for less” but you really don’t. The clothes are cheap and pill after first or second wearings, and I promise you they don’t look good. I’ve walked through that store so many times and never ONCE have I seen anything cute. I can almost instantly point out a girl wearing their clothing simply because it’s NOTICEABLY cheap.
#17 – Not buying their clothes is the most effective form of protesting their conditions, welcome to supply and demand. Writing about it and exposing them for what they are certainly CAN change things.
#42 – I’m definitely in support of capitalism, but I don’t endorse maltreatment of workers, nor do I find it economical to spend $20 on a cheap dress that will rip on its first day of wear.
I’m a broke college student. I work 20 hours a week to pay my rent and other bills, and spend ~$200-300 a YEAR on clothing. I have many designer items that I purchased off of eBay and I promise that having a small but high-quality wardrobe is much more rewarding than hoarding a bunch of low-quality, pill-prone cheap jersey babydoll dresses. In the long-run, it’s even far more economical, because none of my f21 items have lasted for more than a few months. I don’t believe that “mommy and daddy” are the only means by which a poor student can attain a stylish wardrobe – it’s called budgeting and working.
Sorry for the tl;dr. Thank you for this article!
February 10th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
I was a Store Manager in Tampa, FL for almost 4 years. I ran an 8 million dollar store, had 65+ employees, worked numerous hours, hired/trained/staffed ditrict stores and got treated like an hourly sweatshop employee.. Rarely ever got a “thankyou”. Their poor business strategies effect everyone from the mistreated factory workers to the store level employees who have to deal with all the day to day bullshit (cleaning up clothes from the floor, visual floorsets til 5am, angry customers, maintenance issues that take 2 months to fix, etc..). Its unfortunate that they are dominating the retail industry.
February 11th, 2010 at 5:33 am
I work at forever 21, and it’s terribly poorly managed.
February 11th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I frequent Forever 21, and I own a lot of items from their stores. I’ll let you in on a secret, though: I’ve never bought a single thing from Forever 21. I take advantage of them, just like they take advantage of their workers. My money will not support such a corrupt business; those businesses, however, will support my habit of shop-lifting fashionable goods.
February 12th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Thank you for publishing this! I will never shop in Forever 21 again. I hate going in there because the store is always a mess! They can’t run a business and I’ll never support them again. Also their clothes are not even worth the bargain because they fall apart in your hands! And their return policy is a joke. Thank you again. I’m so interested in “Made in La”.
February 12th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Shop and support American Apparel
February 12th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I agree that Forever 21 is wrong by using sweatshops in and out of the U.S. ..But hey, hey, hey there is nothing wrong with people being passionate about their religion. It’s better than them being passionate about the devil, right? Don’t be assholes, and back off the religion aspect as if it were a bad thing.
February 12th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
I’m disagreeing with the last poster – there CAN be plenty wrong with people being passionate about their religion, especially if it is used to discriminate (quite a common occurrence). In addition, missionary work has been responsible for the destruction of whole indigenous cultures and *I* think it IS a big deal. I wish such people would stop pushing others to accept a bunch of hogwash.
Religion gets far too much of a pass and plenty of skanky things go on in its name, like the hypocritical cranking out of slutty clothes that one poster pointed out.
Psst…Yvonne…the devil isn’t real.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I think its great that you are making people aware of where their clothes are coming from, but from what i can tell (from what people have said who claim to have worked or work there currently) F12 doesn’t treat its legal sales employees any worse than any other big name retail store. I worked in a big retail store before when I was younger and we had to buy clear purse that we took to work and would be searched every time we left the store. This shouldn’t be that big of a deal if you aren’t stealing anything or you don’t have tons of garbage in your purse (cut down your purse search time and carry less in your purse).
post #46, Sarah
YOU are part of why those women/men get paid so terrible that work in the sweat shops and in the stores. did you know that stores inventory at least once a year (big stores more frequently) and they figure how much money they loose because people like YOU steal from them. they then figure those losses into either their prices or into their wages to make up for their losses. Way to be.
their return policy is genius if you think about it, while it sucks for the customers it makes it so they loose money, way less money. F12 might be a terrible company for what they do, but they are relatively smart in how they go about certain procedures within their stores ( searching purses to discouraging employees from stealing, no refund return policy, small employee discounts off already notably cheap clothing, lower quality for your lower price)
its terrible, it sucks and i feel horribly that people are being treated terribly for cheaper clothing for everyone else, but stores like F21 will continue on because you simply can not beat their prices.
obviously the majority of people are willing to overlook the quality of their clothes for the cut in prices. when big companies have such low prices like F21 does it REALLY shouldn’t come as a surprise that their stuff is made in sweatshops and if it wasn’t made in sweatshops then why aren’t more stores priced similarly?
psst someone says, have you ever personally been discriminated against because you AREN’T a christian?
February 13th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
congratulations Zoolander squad, you have effectively put a bunch of illegal immigrants out of work and are now going to be sent back across the border.
February 14th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
blah blah blah who cares….
February 14th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
The trailer made me cry… also, I’m a born again evangelical Christian and I am ashamed at the behaviour os the owners. I apologise on behalf of all true Christians and want to emphasize that the way they are manifesting their faith is not what it’s about. Not saying that they can never make mistakes or that they should be perfect but the way they run their business is no mistake. It’s done on purpose. Also, I used to love F21 but now I’m enlightened. Thank you for this article. I can’t afford expensive designer items and so I sew my own clothes or buy them second hand.
February 16th, 2010 at 4:19 am
My mom use to get like 4 cents for every shirt she made… (less than 4 dollars an hour) These shirts weren’t sold in Forever 21 but rather in other big named stores, that most of you people who are “anti-Forever 21″ probably buy your clothes from. You target popular stores and hella complain about them but fail to look at the logistics or bigger picture. I hate to break the news to you but just because you stopped buying clothes from Forever 21 doesn’t make a difference, the only difference you’re making is helping the unemployment rate increase. My mom lost her job, now she earns no money (now aren’t you happy?) Personally I’d rather be working for 4 dollars an hour than being sexually harassed working for American Apparel… (and my mother agrees.)
February 17th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
To Like You Know:
“have you ever personally been discriminated against because you AREN’T a christian?”
YES.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
“Personally I’d rather be working for 4 dollars an hour than being sexually harassed working for American Apparel… (and my mother agrees.)”
Is this a true story? I’m curious. I had always heard that sweatshops were rife with sexual abuse and there wasn’t much legal recourse, either. Not to excuse American Apparel – I certainly agree that they have their (major) issues.
My impression (see above) was also that most stores that sell new items use similar labor practices so I’m not doubting the veracity of that.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
I stopped shopping at f21 about a month ago, Because of their ridiculous return policy. I had bought these shoes and I didn’t like them they seemed very slippery when I got home and actually saw them, I went the next day to return them, had my receipt, the item, and it had its original price tag, didn’t even try them on, when I asked for my money back I was shocked, I didn’t go crazy and yell at them because it did said clearly on the receipt, can only return for “STORE CREDIT” I was mad, so I got my store credit, there’s like 3 dollars on that thing and I wasn’t able to cash it out, when there is a sign that clearly said “GIFT CARDS CAN NOT BE CASHED OUT, BUT IF IT IS UNDER 10 DOLLARS WE CAN CASH IT OUT UNDER CUSTOMERS REQUEST” So I had bought a shirt, and had only 3 dollars left and asked to cash it out, and the guy said NO! I asked why, when there is a sign that clearly said I can because it’s under 10 dollars, this was his response “OH… I DON’T KNOW…I CAN HELP THE NEXT GUEST” I laughed so hard and just walked away, I mean that alone already said there is something wrong with that store. Now even more will I not go back there after reading this.
GIRL ABOUT BEING TO POOR AND CANT AFFORD EXPENSIVE CLOTHES SO YOU SHOP AT F21… I understand.. but thats all a BUNCH OF BULL! So you go to school for school.. school is school not the runway… There’s something known as saving up or mix and matching your clothes, or not giving a damn what people think because you’re not wearing the latest trend. It is unfair on how they treat illegal immigrants, just because they are illegal, and people being so mean on thats what they get blah blah blah… that’s like a racial thing to say, why treat them unfair, MOST Of these immigrants are here to work and make money, theyre not here killing people and making matters worse, theyre here to make money and a living, thats it, If anything, why not make people with bad records, who have killed and raped, shoplifted, do this job. Why? Because they want to be here making all these crimes, why not give them a hard lesson and work like that… Yes Immigrants came here illegal, but MOST of them, the ones suffering and making 4 dollars an hour are just here to make money and save up.
I will not shop here, as much as using “being to poor cause of school” I will not shop here. I work at target, I go to school, and pay bills… But I know how to save up money so I won’t have to shop at places like f21.
Now the whole religion thing is just SAD! In that f21 bag, someone is carrying some short shorts, a revealing shirt and some heels.. is that outfit for church? NOT! One more thing, who else has noticed that their clothes “SIZE” Is way off… A large in real life is SMALL!!! Making people, mostly girls, feel bad about themselves… please f21, STOP!
February 19th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
You want to talk about the rights of immigrant workers and you’re starting with F21? Please. The working conditions of Mexican immigrants in the ag fields of central valley California are so horrible it would put any LA sweatshop to shame. If you’re going to start playing this card and boycotting certain companies based on how they treat their workers, than you might as well stop buying/eating all Ca-grown fruits and vegetables (i.e. all your strawberries, most lettuce, etc.)
February 20th, 2010 at 2:53 am
ok first of all, no one is forcing them to work for the sweatshops, it’s their choice. yea sweatshops are bad and all, but how do you know other stores you shop at doesn’t use them as well? and EVERYBODY steals design ideas from other designers, that’s just the way it works. and for the religious prejudice part, it’s their point of view.if people didnt like it then they wouldnt work for F21 but that’s not happening is it. chillax, F21 is not the worst of your problems
February 20th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Behind virtually all consumer goods available in North America, are multiple layers of concerns regarding labour and environmental standards and violations. These concerns are dishearteningly complex for the average consumer to consider with each purchase, so my suggestion is simply to consider them less by buying less.
While the comments by @holytoledoo are a shocking testament to the naivete of American Youth, she points us to the ultimate issue; the overwhelming desire of consumers (as an overly generalized group) to CONSUME CONSTANTLY (a desire fueled by retailers and marketers).
This complicity in the cult of novelty is what compels competition for ever cheaper and ever faster fashion. Just stop buying it. Anywhere. Cultivate style without becoming a slave to shorter and cheaper fashion seasons that drive the “necessity” to cut manufacturing costs.
February 21st, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Not only that, but the one in 34th street here in NYC had ppl winning up to 100 per hour, they were all recently fired! They were stealing hours and bonus checks from ppl, one of those workers being my mother. I hope there’s a lawsuit! Someone please EFF those ppl up we need news coverage! We need to make this a huge issue, if the media covered this it would all end!
February 21st, 2010 at 5:24 pm
BTW Someone has to put those who were getting that type of money in jail,my mother says working conditions have improved after this week, but there’s still more changes to come. Employees demand justice and they deserve it!
February 21st, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I agree with the comments that said that, unfortunately, f21 isn’t the only store to use slave labour to create their goods.
In fact, I think if you look deep into most industries slave labour will appear somewhere along the way – even if the clothes are made in the US for decent wages what about the materials themselves? Most fabrics come through india, thailand, or similar countries where there are massive sweatshop industries devoted to textiles, dying fabrics, making fabrics, making thread, etc.
You can’t really escape it sadly. Also just wanting to say I’m a christian and I definitely don’t think the Changs are behaving in a very christian way by discriminating against people because of their faith – christianity should be about love not about forcing your opinions on someone else. I think it’s really sad that these people are ignoring the central tenets of their religion in order to justify discrimination and abuse.
Terrible and sad.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Instead of complaining about F21 and their sweatshops, why don’t you complain about the illegal immigrants? If they weren’t here, the sweatshops wouldn’t be either! =]
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:42 pm
i agree with justine, and as much as i hate the idea of the sweatshops, i have to agree that no one is forcing them to work there. i think every company has flaws and everyone has issues with their bosses/workers whatever.
all i’m saying is, this is kind of a bossy argument that’s dripping with venom. chill out. you don’t wanna shop there? fine, don’t. you don’t like sweatshops? neither do i. i think you should let people know what’s going on. but do actual homework first. make sure you know for a fact that these things are happening.
just sayin’….
:D
p.s.
putting john 3:16 on the bottom of a bag is NOT shoving religion down your throat. no one’s making you pick up a bible and look it up. no one’s forcing you to give money to a church or sit down and listen to a ‘preacher’. get over yourself and untwist your panties.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:47 am
I worked for F21, but finally enough was enough. It is a disgrace that this company is growing and growing. The owner and HR execs are corrupt and completely unethical. Customers really have no idea of what really goes in with this company!
March 8th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
I currently work for Forever 21. There are many things on this blog that are completely false. First ler me say that Forever 21 DOES NOT use sweat shops. Thr whole Sweatshop in the US Documentary was from 2004- for those of you cannot add that was 6 years ago and all disputes have been settled.
Working at Forever 21 I have handled the merchandise and have not seen any problems with quality. The problem comes when customers do not know how to read care instruction labels. They don’t bother to read them and then they blame Forever 21.
As far as John 3:16 is concerned- why does it even matter? You don’t have to read the scripture or the Bible for that matter. Seems like some of these people on here would be the type of people that are offended that churches even exist. Move on. If they want to profess their belief and faith in God- let them. They have the right to beleive just as you have the right to be uninformed and completely off base.
Regarding HR and Execs- Wrong again!! I have never seen anything unethical or corrupt. They are good to their employees and treat them well.
My humble yet accurate opinion is that the bashing stems from jealousy. Jealousy in the fact that 99.99999999% percent of these haters don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of being blessed and fortunate enough to grow a business like the Changs have done.
It’s the liberal, left wing, tree hugging, socilist whack jobs that will cause this country to fail.
Just shut up already.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:31 am
^^Name calling. Classy, and always an effective and well-reasoned debate tool.
March 9th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Isn’t it.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:45 am
Aren’t you trying to push your fashion religion on us by telling us that because your website hates F21, we should too? Don’t be a hypocrite. People who want to buy F21, buy it. People who don’t want to, then don’t.
March 14th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Honestly, I still love forever 21. I do think it’s horrible they use sweatshops in the US, but they are undocumented workers. If they became a citizen they wouldn’t have this problem. The owners sound weird and too pushy on their religious views, but that’s their problem. Just because that company doesn’t have morals regarding whose making the clothes doesn’t mean I shouln’t shop there. If the workers don’t demand higher wages injustice will keep happening to them..EVERYWHERE
March 16th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I agree with Holy Toledo. Everyone’s making F21 out to be the most terrible thing in the world. But c’mon. Do you guys seriously believe that stores like Banana Republic & Gap etc etc, don’t engage in sweatshop labor and all that? Immigrants are desperate. They need jobs. An immigrant in the US is not going to find a job sitting as a secretary in some law office – it’s a give & take between these huge clothing corporations and immigrant workers. They need the labor – the immigrants need the money. It’s terrible, yeah, but that’s the truth. If they wanted to have a great job and better working conditions – they should have come to the US legally, no? Def agree with Post #65 & #59.
March 20th, 2010 at 11:25 am
I just want to chime in on this conversation regarding quotes like this, “If you want to immigrate to america, do it the right way so that you dont have to suffer like you did back in your country! I want everyone to be happy and successful, but coming to america to prosper and then settle for terrible working conditions is just a contradiction.”
speaking as someone has visited Mexico and sat and talked with families of people who have immigrated to America – illegally and legally, I can’t let these comments go. It’s easy for us as educated young Americans to say something like, “it’s their fault, they shouldn’t work there, get educated and do something with yourself” but in reality, this is just not how it works and it’s very insensitive to say something like that about people who’s lives you have no idea about. When you’ve visited a family in Mexico and used their outdoor toilet that is a hole in the ground and washed your hands in a basin outside and heard their stories – then you can judge why they will take a $4/hour job. Especially when you learn that someone working in mexico MIGHT make $4 in two weeks. People who immigrate to Mexico LOVE america. They love americans. They are GOOD people. They are willing to RISK THEIR LIVES (and many have) to have a chance at something better – to be able to send a pittance back to their families…if they can ever contact them again. One elderly mother hasn’t spoken to her son in 8 years and doesn’t know if he is alive or not – she cried because all she wants is to share a meal with him.
So, don’t get on a high horse and tell them to buck up. If they could, they would.