Abercrombie pulls T-shirts from shelves

Christopher Chan's entire summer wardrobe is from Abercrombie & Fitch.\nThis now poses a problem for the senior chairperson for IU's Asian Student Union. The ASU is one organization among many in the Asian-American community nationwide upset over T-shirts the clothing company produced that portrayed men with slanted eyes and conk-shaped hats. \nOne T-shirt even displayed the phrase: "Two wongs can make it white," -- a slight modification from the old "two wongs can't make a white" racial joke, Chan said.\nWhile Chan said they are pleased the company has yanked the T-shirts from their shelves, he refuses to wear any Abercrombie clothing until the company publishes a national letter of regret. Chan said he is upset over one particular T-shirt that displayed the deity Buddha in a humorous light.\n"If any other religion had been on the T-shirt, people would have been upset," Chan said. "All these T-shirts came together in a line. It bewildered us that they got through their marketing teams."\nIn a letter to the IDS, ASU expressed their discontent with the company.\n"We at the Asian Student Union in IU-Bloomington together with our associations condemn the actions of Abercrombie & Fitch, namely, having marketed graphic T-shirts that portrayed Asians and Asian-Americans in a stereotypical manner with references to old racial slurs and commercialization of our religious deity," the letter said.\nChan said he had spoken with the local Abercrombie store managers, and they said they were just as shocked with the T-shirts as he was. The ASU also sent a letter to the local store expressing their distaste.\nThe local store manager, who identified herself only as "Brandy," refused to comment on the matter.\nThe clothing company has not released an official statement regarding the T-shirts. Hampton Carney, a spokesperson for the company, offered this condolence:\n"We're very, very, very sorry," Carney said. "It's never been our intention to offend anyone."\nBut this statement did not reach everyone. Chan still wants a formal apology to the Asian-American community.\n"Abercrombie & Fitch is such a large organization, they should have exercised more caution," Chan said. "What they put on T-shirts may be accepted by the many, but having a massive campaign with racial jokes is not acceptable."\nThe ASU's letter continued to berate the actions taken by Abercrombie & Fitch, and urged any students who had purchased the T-shirts to return them, or not wear them. The group also wants the company to issue a public apology on its Web site.\n"It is pertinent that we confirm their sincerity of regret on their actions," the ASU letter said. "We do not feel that Indiana University is a place that tolerates racial degradation, and marketing the product in stores that cater to the campus population compromises our strive for diversity on campus."\nWhile many Asian activists have participated in protests outside area stores, Chan said no such protest is planned for the College Mall location.\nSome of the T-shirts banned for sale are being auctioned on Ebay for upwards of $70.