Lands’ End has apologized for and pulled its interview with feminist activist Gloria Steinem after two Christian schools in Missouri—and a host of angry Facebook commenters—complained that the clothing retailer was supporting abortion.
Tolton Catholic High School, in Columbia, and College of the Ozarks, a private, Christian college near Branson, both announced this week that they’d stop purchasing uniforms from Lands’ End in protest of the company’s interview with Steinem, which appeared in the catalogue and online as part of Lands’ End’s new “Legend Series,” described as an “ode to individuals who have made a difference in both their respective industries and the world at large.”
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Though Steinem has vocally supported abortion rights for women in the past, the Lands’ End catalogue interview did not mention the topic. Rather the interview—framed as a conversation between Steinem, dressed in Lands’ End clothes, and CEO Federica Marchionni—focuses on fashion, personal style, and advice for life.
“Your decision to feature a woman who is a well-known abortion activist as your Legend Series honoree, and to whom the company is giving a portion of proceeds for her organization, has resulted in our decision,” Sue Head, College of the Ozark’s vice president of cultural affairs, wrote in a Wednesday letter to Lands’ End, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
“I find it ironic that your cover features young children and their families having an Easter egg hunt when Ms. Steinem stands for ending life in the womb,” Head’s letter continues. “We will not be part of advancing your agenda or hers. At College of the Ozarks, we believe we are called to stand up against those who seek to destroy the Judeo-Christian values upon which our country was founded.”
Tolton also sent a letter ending its five-year relationship with the company, and the Diocese from Jefferson City told ABC 17 News it is alerting other Missouri Christian schools as to why Tolton has stopped using Lands’ End uniforms.
“We believe unequivocally that all life is sacred, from conception until natural death. It would be contrary to our school’s very identity to support a company who celebrates the work of someone so opposed to our beliefs,” Tolton officials wrote in a letter shared by ABC 17 News.
On Wednesday, Lands’ End issued an official apology:
We understand that some of our customers were offended by the inclusion of an interview in a recent catalog with Gloria Steinem on her quest for women’s equality. We thought it was a good idea and we heard from our customers that, for different reasons, it wasn’t. For that, we sincerely apologize. Our goal was to feature individuals with different interests and backgrounds that have made a difference for our new Legends Series, not to take any political or religious stance.
Lands’ End also appears to have removed an option that would have allowed customers to embroider a ERA Coalition label to an item and donate $3 to the U.N. Fund for Women’s Equality, which launched along with the Steinem interview.
Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at [email protected] or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
