american apparel, the LA-based clothing manufacturer that everyone either loves, or loves to hate, has been a hot topic on the internets of late. seems as if i have been stumbling across articles and other bits of media concerning the infamous company at least every couple of days. you ask: why would this be? well, it seems they though they are still battling various legal woes and facing other business challenges, they are simultaneously doing well (relatively speaking) and managing to remain somewhat financially buoyant in these trying retail times.
generally, i've noted that folks seem have fairly strong opinions about american apparel. some favor the company for their downtown feel, modern cuts and blissfully logo-free mix-and-matchable knit basics, as well as the fact that they currently manufacture on US soil (they proudly and loudly market that aspect of their business). others revile the company in response to their anti-labor union stance, and hipster-flavored, super-sexually-charged advertising, or take issue with the alleged (mis)behavior(s) of the outfit's CEO, dov charney.
in the interest of passing (interesting) things along (as i am wont to and enjoy doing), i thought i'd note and link to said posts/news pieces:
-who's your daddy? dov charney serves up paternalism with a creepy smile at american apparel HQ (from clamor magazine)
-american apparel teams up with chictopia (via behind the seams: the ethical style blog): some select members of the personal style site are to serve as models for AA in the near future. jezebel, however, questions this current marketing move on the part of AA...
-this clip on current, no sweat solution, shows a slice of a documentary about american apparel and a competitor in the tee shirt manufacturing industry, no sweat. both aimed to operate a manufacturing firm that treated it's workers fairly, but each had a different way of achieving that aim. one company found success, the other failed...if nothing else, the clip/film does a great job of vividly illustrating what a character dov is!
-the complicated world of american apparel (wwd): subscription only, sadly. but suffice to say, it's a good, multi-page read on the ins, outs of the company and why and how they do what they do, and it sheds light on the various, sundry and many legal woes of dov and his empire, and how those marketing schemes and cases have affected the company, for the worse, or the better. one could argue that not all of their recent and past moves are bad ones, surprisingly, as evidenced by their relative recent successes in this currently down, down, down market...
-see also: american apparel's plans for recession success: more sex, please (via jezebel) & american apparel bares all (via the wall street journal)
i ask you, as i always like to do:
american apparel: loathe? love regardless? whatever, whichever, why?
does reading more, gaining more insight into the company or it's CEO change your mind about them at all? or does said news bolster your beliefs about them as a company?
to take this line of questioning a step further: do the business practices or personal beliefs/actions of a company and/or its management or staff color how you feel about that company? if you disagreed with said practices, would you refuse to purchase their wares, even if you really liked what they had on offer? why, or why not?