Hundreds of styles of cotton fabrics in countless colors, racy advertisements featuring scantily clad women in provocative positions, neon and gold lamé leggings and leotards, and leg−warmers fit for any 1980s−themed party are all common sights at American Apparel, home to hipsters and spandex−lovers worldwide. The company's future might not be as bright as the clothing it sells, as a recent spate of financial woes has left the company on the brink of bankruptcy.
According to the New York Times, the Los Angeles−based company is now the largest clothing manufacturer in the United States in terms of domestic production, but its roots can be traced much closer to the Hill: Dov Charney, American Apparel's founder and CEO, spent three years at Tufts, from 1987 to 1990, where he was an American studies major. It was here that he first started making and selling T−shirts out of his dorm room, first printing on Hanes T−shirts and then manufacturing his own.
Although the company's popularity among young people fueled its initial success, American Apparel now finds itself saddled with $123 million in debt and a warning from the New York Stock Exchange that a delisting of the company could be in order.
Still, the brand's wares remain a popular choice for Jumbos.
"The clothes are really comfortable and include a lot of basics that go with every outfit," junior Tiffany Casanova said. "The quality is good, and I think they have pieces that make every outfit."
Another reason for its sustained popularity on campus, it seems, is the politics behind the label. The company has consistently espoused what it says are progressive labor and immigration practices, and every tag on an American Apparel garment reads "MADE IN THE USA" in bright, capitalized font. All of American Apparel's workers are based in its Los Angeles headquarters, where they receive almost unprecedented pay for clothing manufacturers; the average experienced sewer makes $12 an hour, according to the company's website. Employees also enjoy a variety of other amenities, such as health care and free English lessons. Because many American Apparel employees are Spanish−speaking immigrants, in 2001, the company shut down its headquarters so that immigrants could participate in an annual immigration rally in downtown Los Angeles.
But the company is still subject to scandal; in 2009, the company was forced to fire 1,800 workers, some of whom had been with the company for a decade, after an investigation revealed immigration documentation problems.
Charney's liberal labor practices have made him a hero among labor and anti−globalization activists, but he has been equally dogged by controversy and criticism.
Charney directs all American Apparel advertising, much of which features young women wearing little clothing in sexually explicit or suggestive positions. Many of the models are employees of the company or friends and strangers who send in their pictures.
Some students find that while American Apparel clothing has, so far, been fairly successful on campus, the company actually targets a very specific customer and repels students who are not entertained by Charney's everything−goes demeanor.
"I wouldn't want to buy their clothes judging from their ads," junior Marianna Zak said. "It looks like they are serving a very narrow demographic. Their ads make their clothes look like costumes."
The sexuality of the company's ads has also allegedly extended into the American Apparel workplace. Charney has been accused of walking around company headquarters in his underwear, plastering pictures of Penthouse over the walls of his office and giving women vibrators. Four former employees have filed sexual harassment suits against him, and a reporter for Jane, a now−shuttered women's magazine, reported that during an interview with her, he engaged in oral sex with a female employee and masturbated. Charney has not denied the claims and confirmed to Businessweek that his language "can get pretty salty." Charney refused to speak to the Daily on the record for this story.
American Apparel's reported discriminatory hiring practices — including a noted lack of overweight employees — have also generated criticism.
With the company's future uncertain, American Apparel devotees at Tufts are now forced to consider the possibility of patronizing alternative retail outposts.
"I have to admit that I like their clothes, and I like shopping there, but there are other stores that offer similar fashions at cheaper prices," junior Sarah Rauh said. "I would be sad to see a company with such progressive labor policies go under, but on the other hand, I think they set a precedent, and I hope another company will replace it."
