SR0517

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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Abercrombie & Fitch ("ANF") has been a sporting 
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goods clothing retailer since 1892; and

 
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    WHEREAS, 14 of ANF's 363 retail stores are in Illinois; and

 
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    WHEREAS, ANF's target groups are youths as young as seven 
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years old, teens, and college-age young adults; and
 
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    WHEREAS, ANF markets itself as a "lifestyle brand" 
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allegedly embodying the values and appeal of a desirable way of 
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living; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Since the late 1990's, ANF has produced and 
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marketed several lines of merchandise and catalogues that they 
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have ultimately pulled from the market in response to public 
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disgust and pressure; and
 
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    WHEREAS, ANF has recently introduced lines of girls and 
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boys T-shirts with overt and obscene sexual messages that 
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degrade and objectify women in particular; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The girls T-shirts contain messages like "With 
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these who needs brains", "Blondes are adored, brunettes are 
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ignored", "Anatomy Tutor", and "Muck Fe"; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The boys T-shirts contain messages like "You blow 
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I'll pop", "Bitches love me", and "The Island of Lesbos, every 
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man's dream"; and

 
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    WHEREAS, These T-shirts are available for purchase at ANF's 
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Illinois store locations and on ANF's website; and

 
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    WHEREAS, A group of teenage girls in Allegheny County, 
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Pennsylvania, have initiated a "girlcott" of the company in 
 


 






SR0517
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LRB094 15129 LCT 50302 r




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response to these T-shirts; and

 
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    WHEREAS, ANF has repeatedly mocked the values of Illinois 
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families with their merchandise and marketing tactics aimed at 
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children; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Abercrombie & 
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Fitch to remove the aforementioned T-shirts from their stores 
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or we otherwise urge the public, and parents especially, to 
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boycott Abercrombie & Fitch, and urge stockholders to demand a 
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public stand against their merchandise and marketing 
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techniques promoting an obscene and degrading lifestyle, until 
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these products are removed from their stores and advertising of 
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this nature ceases.