Not Coupon Related ( but a great brag )

[pumpkin9211]

This shirt was hanging in a Stitches clothing store. Below is my letter to them and their response.
I'm proud of myself and thought I would share



To Whom It May Concern,

Recently, a family member travelled to London, ON. Hanging in your store (White Oaks Shopping Centre) was a t-shirt with a “stick man” and overweight “stick woman”. The caption below stated “team player”.

As a beautiful, intelligent, confident, successful, happily married plus size woman I find this shirt, and your store, appalling.

I have tried to see the humour in it. And, I keep coming back to the same conclusion: Nothing about this shirt is funny.

This shirt promotes hate.

I recommend that you have your team review the news from the past year or so. You will note an overwhelming amount of evidence that suggests it is no longer acceptable to bully people based on their looks. Perhaps you have heard of the Anti-Bullying Act? It’s a pretty important piece of legislation.

While the rest of us are working on acceptance, diversity, tolerance and compassion you are still supporting emotional abuse.

Are your employees allowed to treat each other this way? Do you use this type of criteria to select your employees? There are laws against all that, too.

Are you aware that the effects of bullying can result in a lifelong struggle with self-esteem? Did your team of “designers” or buyers stop to think about this for a moment? I am quite interested to know what your goal was in securing and selling this shirt.

I understand that I am not your “market”. However, your team failed to note that I AM one of your frequent customers. I do have nieces and nephews that I shop for at back to school time, Christmas time, Easter, and a spring and summer birthday. I will no longer buy them anything from your company. I will not allow them to support a company that promotes such antiquated, mean-spirited, obnoxious, shameful and quite frankly, useless ideals.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Ms Leslie,

Our customer service department forwarded your concern to me. Thank you very much for taking the time to advise us of this issue.

Upon review, I wanted to advise you that all t-shirts carrying the offending slogan will be immediately removed from stores and liquidated. Our Company is committed to supporting family friendly values and we recognize that the slogan was not in line with those values.

We sincerely apologize if the t shirt caused insult and offense and accept that it was a mistake to make them available.

I again thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.


Sincerely,




Performance through Partnership and Integrity
Mary-Jo Godinho
Customer Service Support Coordinator
YM Inc. | Siblings | Urban Planet | Number 7 | Mariposa | Marisa
50 Dufflaw Road
Toronto | Ontario | M6A 2W1
P: 416 789 1071 x2565 | F: 416 789 8986
[email protected] | www.ym-inc.com

[Keykey]

Awesome!! Good for you to make a store review their product line and have them take the moral road!!!

[Patty Smyth]

Good for sticking it too them

[MomOfOne79]

Great Job!!

[angel_2011]

wtg!! i'm so proud of u as well.

However.... I don't get the shirt - i understand it's a skinny man and a overweight woman but what does "team player" refer to? i guess i'm having one of those brunette/blonde/redhead moments lol. So, can someone please explain it to me. Thanks!!

[sharkie]

[coupondude2012]

Angel_2011 I think the shirt is basically making a statement that normal guys like normal girls, not "bigger" people, maybe a group of friends were kinda like together and the "bigger" girl was feeling left out, so one of the guys, choose the bigger girl "kinda taking one for the team sorta thing" something along those lines. BTW i much prefer "bigger" girls anyway lol

[GracieAnne]

Wtg, I don't usually shop there, this makes me more sure of my choice not to. I can't believe that someone thought this t shirt would be a good idea in the first place.

[Slaney]

So they're going to liquidate it? Um...doesn't that just mean other stores will sells it?

[thriftygranny]

I am with Angel on this one what does" Team Player" mean. i know I am not young and hip someone please explain!!

Good for you for standing up for this. My daughter battles with anorexia and I hate anything to do with making fun of weight whether it be over or under weight. Congratulations.

[GracieAnne]

It's difficult to explain the meaning, but believe me, it is intended to be insulting and degrading towards overweight females.

[angel_2011]

i am just appaled at the amount of time, money, labour and material that went into making a product that is so disgraceful and distasteful. Since Stitches targets the younger generation, as a parent, i am shocked at the mentality of the "creative" geniuses behind this "slogan" and the executives who approved the making of this shirt.

If Stitches has so much money to waste, maybe they should put it to better use - donate some to charities or organizations who could make better use of it!

[Bronwen]

Way to go!!!!! I am shocked that they would actually liquidate all shirts with that image (although the damage has already been done and they are only doing it cause they got "caught"). Proud of you. Now teen girls who struggle with this type of.bullying may be at least a bit more protected. I'm glad you brought it to.their attention that this goes against the Anti Bullying act etc. Awesome.brag!

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[jasperandchar]

thanks pumpkin9211 for taking a stand and making a change for the better!

[krysta lynne]

I am with Angel on this one what does" Team Player" mean. i know I am not young and hip someone please explain!!

Good for you for standing up for this. My daughter battles with anorexia and I hate anything to do with making fun of weight whether it be over or under weight. Congratulations.

its saying that buddy is gonna chill with the fat girl because she prob has skinny friends. it's a club reference really.