December 1, 2003
For Immediate Release
Contact:

Maryam Kubasek
Director of Communications
513/521-6227, ext. 111

Cincinnati--Despite the fact that Abercrombie & Fitch pulled the 2003 Christmas Field Guide from its stores, the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families intends to continue and even expand its public awareness campaign and boycott.

“We want the tens of thousands of people who have participated in the boycott to recognize that they CAN make a difference,” said Rick Schatz, president and CEO of the National Coalition.  “We also want to emphasize that IT IS NOT OVER. Until Abercrombie & Fitch rejects the ideology that they have embraced, we will continue to promote and even expand the awareness campaign and boycott.”

Schatz points out that the problem is with the company’s use of clothing to sell a sexual ideology to teens. “The bottom line is that even if Abercrombie & Fitch is no longer selling the quarterly in its stores, the company continues to push the wrong messages on teens,” he said. “Until we receive assurances from A&F’s leadership that they will no longer promote sexual promiscuity in ANY of their marketing, we will not let up on the pressure.”

The National Coalition launched a public awareness campaign November 10 aimed at exposing A&F’s irresponsible promotion of risky sexual behaviors to teens in its “magalog.”  The National Coalition asserts that Abercrombie & Fitch is selling a moral philosophy of sexuality that not only doesn’t work but also is actually harming America’s youth.  The message that recreational sex has no consequences is simply untrue. America leads the entire world in unwanted teen pregnancies – approximately 2700 teenagers become pregnant each day in America. American teenagers are more likely to become pregnant and have multiple partners than any other teenager on the planet. We lead the industrialized world in sexually transmitted diseases – approximately 70 million Americans are currently infected with an STD. An estimated 15.3 million people are infected each year. The highest at risk group in America is between the ages of 17 and 25, the same demographic audience being targeted by A&F.

“Pulling the quarterlies from the stores was a decision aimed at making the protest go away. It won't work,” Schatz said.