I went into American Apparel this weekend with my kids to do some shopping.  Haven't really shopped there much, but after researching fair trade clothing for ALSO tshirts I learned that American Apparel commits itself to fair trade principles and actually makes all of their clothing in, shock of all shocks, America.  In one factory in LA to be exact.  In an age of offshore manufacturing this is truly rare, and worth supporting.  It's nice to know that the people who made your clothes are getting a fair wage.

The odd thing, however, is even though they are committed to this social justice they seem quite clearly willing to exploit sex to sell.  This is not odd, I know, for a clothing company.  But they take it to the next level.  I have kids, and there aren't that many stores that have a kids section that also give out free calendars at the door that have naked women (AA models who are also store workers) in them.  We took some of these calendars home without knowing the contents.  Don't get me wrong, I get it, it's a clothing store and they are trying to sell clothes, and I'm not against nudity per se or true beauty or jazzy calendars, but it just seemed like there were a few mixed messages: fair trade, family brand (they sell and tailor clothes for all ages), social justice, simple clothes (no logos), semi-pornographic calendars featuring their hottest workers free at the door.  The calendar was fine by itself, but the whole combination of experiences struck me as odd.