Note: I wrote this forever ago, before most of you knew this blog existed (7mo ago). I’m reposting now, because you guys might find it interesting/informative, especially now that it’s come out that American Apparel is flirting with bankruptcy.
American Apparel is America’s largest clothing manufacturer. Did you know that? I just did, and it bothers me. It all started out with this douchebag:
(The one on the left. Who is, by the way, not American but Canadian.)
In some ways, American Apparel is a wonderful thing. It doesn’t use sweatshops and it’s 100% made in the USA, unlike most things.
But, something you didn’t know about them: According to an ICE audit, 25% of American Apparel’s workers are illegal immigrants. The CEO’s response to that information? People who weren’t illegals would be given “priority” in the future. Priority? Really now. So the fact that you still have tons of illegals working for you is because there were absolutely no citizens or legal residents who needed work.
(The remainder of this post mentions sex constantly, so sensitive eyes read no further)
And then there’s the matter of their advertising. Not content with merely using bony urbanites in tights, they started using porn stars to sell their tube socks. But at least they were clothed. Then they started using girls who wanted to become models that were willing to get all the way naked. All the way. To sell hoodies and zip up vests. Seriously, there was pubic hair. If you want the link for that you can find it yourself.
Interestingly enough, the only ads that got racier were those with girls in them. Coincidentally, Mr CEO with the dog up there has a thing for sleeping with his employees, especially the aforementioned naked models. And, when the recession started and American Apparel began losing some money, it came out that the CEO was spending company money on “apartments and vibrators” for those models. Yeah, sex toys. With company money.
He also liked to house his prostitutes selected employees in those special apartments, and gave them additional money. Also, he would publicly get oral sex from retail employees, and ask other retail employees to watch.
He not only likes to sleep with his models, but also with his employees. Even when they don’t want to. Hence a sexual harassment lawsuit being filed against him now. Let’s look at the transcript from a Dateline segment:
“Josh Mankiewicz, Dateline correspondent: You do workshops for employers telling them how to avoid sexual harassment cases.
Keith Fink, attorney for Mary Nelson: Quite often. I’m a pretty entertaining guy.
Mankiewicz: And you give out a bunch of guidelines for people to sort of live by if they wanna stay out of a courtroom.
Fink: Absolutely.
Mankiewicz: How many of those guidelines were broken at American Apparel?
Fink: Every single one of them.”
He also enjoys masturbating in front of women, just like he did in front of the female reporter interviewing him for Jane’s magazine. Eight times.
To quote: “‘Masturbation in front of women is underrated,’ Dov explains to me later over the phone. ‘It’s much easier on the woman. She gets to watch, it’s a sensual experience that doesn’t involve a man violating a woman, yet once the man has his release, it’s over and you can talk to the guy.’ Soon enough he loosens his Pierre Cardin belt. ‘Are you going to do it again?’ I ask.” In Ko’s article, she asserts that she witnessed Charney jerk off more than eight times in one month. ”
Part of Dov Charney (Mr CEO)’s “relaxed work environment involves calling women cunts and sluts. Also according to Mr Charney, it’s not offensive at all because “He loves sluts.” And he’s actually proud of this.
(She’s wearing a skin-colored body suit.)
One of the women involved in the lawsuit says that she got the job because she allowed him to violate her, and promised to become his “personal dirty whore” if he gave her the job.
When you take into account that his hiring philosophy was: “It is imperative that the people who wear our clothes are really attractive, vain hipsters, and any priority they exhibit that runs counter to looking really awesome should be a warning sign that maybe they should not work here.” it kinda makes sense.
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(She’s wearing tights.)
Once on a conference call he ”instructed all his managers to keep a strict “10% rule,” whereby the ugliest/most “WTO” 10% of all retail employees were constantly eased off the schedule.”
According to one of the women involved in the lawsuit: “He [Dov Charney] asked her to hire young women with whom he could have sex, Asians preferred.”
It’s one thing to advocate a sexually liberated work environment. It’s another to make that the foundation of your company.
And the sexual harassment extends beyond Mr. CEO. A Businessweek article states: “But BusinessWeek spoke with seven former workers who say they were offended by what they called a highly sexual atmosphere at American Apparel. They told stories of senior managers who pursued sexual relationships with less senior colleagues and rewarded their favorites with promotions, company cars, and apartments”
The scandal doesn’t stop with sexable Asian women. Mr CEO also hired a bona fide cocaine dealer to serve as a Human Resources manager in New York. And said coke dealer specialized in hiring coke addict workers. I’ve never heard of a company before that actively looked for coke addicts.
Oh, and here’s my favorite part. Mr CEO said in an interview a while back that he likes to photograph models that look underage in sexually charged positions. Wonderful.
All this is almost enough to make me wish this was true.
So, next time you consider buying a $50 plain green T Shirt, remember that you aren’t just paying for non-unionized factory workers and “Made in America,” but also for Dov Charney’s continuing sexual exploitation of female employees and extreme chauvinism masked as sexual liberation.
