Teens Storm Abercrombie & Fitch Store to Protest Toxic Perfume

[Guest guest]

Oct 1st 2010 By Virginia Sole-

Teens Storm Abercrombie & Fitch Store to Protest Toxic Perfume

NewsBeauty9 Comments

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/10/01/abercrombie-fitch-perfume/?icid=main%7Cnetsc\

ape%7Cdl5%7Csec3_lnk3%7C174758

If you're over the age of 25, you know it's pretty much impossible to go in

Abercrombie & Fitch without gagging. " They made us spray the signature scents

every 20 minutes like clockwork, so the store always smells, " reports a former

Abercrombie & Fitch employee (who asked that she not be named). " Most stores

even have scent sprayers in the ceiling. After a while, you start to get dizzy. "

On Tuesday, a group of Bay Area teens decided to let the brand know just how

much they don't appreciate the nostril assault. Teens Turning Green stormed an

Abercrombie & Fitch store in San Francisco's Westfield Mall, wearing surgical

masks and gas masks and carrying signs with slogans like " Stop the Perfume

Pollution. "

And it wasn't the pungent aroma of disappointing prom nights and bad keg parties

that they were protesting. Recent lab analysis by the nonprofit advocacy group

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics revealed that A & F's " Fierce " fragrance contains 11

chemicals not listed on the ingredient label, many of which are sensitizers that

can trigger asthma, headaches and contact dermatitis. One (diethyl phthalate)

has been linked in some studies to sperm damage in adult men and abnormal

reproductive development in baby boys ...

While it's not clear that spraying " Fierce " can cause such health problems, the

group says A & F shoppers in nearby Village at Corte Madera, an open-air mall in

Marin County, complained of headaches, sore throats, coughing and nausea to the

point that mall management asked that branch to remove their storefront

sprayers. (The store agreed.)

" This demonstrates that there can be simple change in practices to protect our

air, health and environment, " the group wrote in a petition to Mike Jeffries,

the company's CEO, which asked the chain to stop spraying " Fierce " in and around

all of its retail locations across the country.

The group is still waiting for the CEO's response, but the San Francisco store

wasn't too pleased with them on Tuesday. Store managers responded to the protest

by closing the location to all customers and calling the police.

" It was interesting that the powers that be felt the need to send three police

squad cars to protect A & F from the teens, " notes Malkan, a Campaign for

Safe Cosmetics spokesperson and author of " Not Just a Pretty Face, " who

participated in the protest and noted that " the cologne's stench was

overwhelming even from 20 feet away on the sidewalk! "

Police said the protesters could picket the sidewalk, but would be arrested if

they entered the store.

We love Teens Turning Green co-president Packer's cool response: " We may

have trespassed in your store, but we want to tell you, you're trespassing on

our rights and on our health. " Game on.

Speaking of stinky perfume, here's more on h Carey's new scent: Wonder if

it will be as bad as " Glitter " ...

[Guest guest]

I would bet that J Crew stores do the same thing. I have tried to shop in there

twice at Christmas time for my son and the smell is just horrible. Makes me sick

for the rest of the day~

>

> Oct 1st 2010 By Virginia Sole-

> Teens Storm Abercrombie & Fitch Store to Protest Toxic Perfume

> NewsBeauty9 Comments

>

>

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/10/01/abercrombie-fitch-perfume/?icid=main%7Cnetsc\

ape%7Cdl5%7Csec3_lnk3%7C174758

>

> If you're over the age of 25, you know it's pretty much impossible to go in

Abercrombie & Fitch without gagging. " They made us spray the signature scents

every 20 minutes like clockwork, so the store always smells, " reports a former

Abercrombie & Fitch employee (who asked that she not be named). " Most stores

even have scent sprayers in the ceiling. After a while, you start to get dizzy. "

>

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