Say what you will about American Apparel but I love the brand. Admittedly, I do not buy $50 sweatshirts from their stores (or anything else for that matter) but their business philosophy is one to make note of. Imagine if even 10% of companies in the world operated with similar ethics with regards to production and distribution. Sure, you could argue that because there is now another company making shirts, there is now another company using more materials and energy which is more damage to the environment. However, they have such a significant portion of that market now that other companies, that are not as conscious, may produce less and/or may have influence on those companies to adapt to similar systems. A company such as American Apparel also shows that collectively, our society is more concerned about how and where their products are made. Their marketing is clever too.
Sure, people want to criticize them for their ads for some reason. I don't see what the big fuss is all about. Not just because I like to see sexy girls in ads, but because they're not any worse than Calvin Klein, Guess, Victoria's Secret, etc... If anything, they are a lot better since they are glorifying naturally beautiful girls with out the use of airbrushing, make up artists and agents. Maybe it's the fact that these images look 'real'? A lot of them do look as though they could have just been taken by a boyfriend and that's the appeal and the success. Average citizens can relate to those images and to the company. Even at this point most people know about the good nature of that company but they continue to make people aware even in some of their sexier ads. Recently, they even included a mini newspaper with Vice to make people more aware of immigration issues in America and specifically L.A. Of course it's part of their marketing but they don't have to do what they do.
Oh, did I mention they have some beautiful pictures of girls and other great info on their site?
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