A Below the Fold reader — quite to my surprise, I actually have some — says that Bath & Body Works has pulled the American Girl "ICan Bands" from its shelves, an apparent response to the boycott against American Girl by some extremist groups. As I said in a previous post, these groups are boycotting the popular American Girl line of dolls, clothes and books because American Girl donates money to Girls, Inc., a national non-profit that, according to the American Family Association, “supports abortion rights.”
American Girl is selling the ICan bands online and donating 70 cents of each dollar raised to Girls Inc., as well as making a $50,000 donation. As of yesterday, you could also buy the bands at Bath & Body Works, but it seems no more. American Girl also removed any reference to Bath & Body Works from its web site.
I would like someone from either American Girl or Bath & Body Works to explain their decision; I will put my former reporter hat on and see what, if anything, I can find out from either organization. In the meantime, read the Girls Inc. Bill of Rights, and think about whether you want today’s young women raised in a world where intolerance is embraced and ignorance is rewarded.
Technorati tags:
I was laughing, your news blurbs are hilarious, but this is definitely sobering. Perhaps we should bring foot binding back into style. This way we can’t run as fast to buy those filthy, emancipating bracelets. I mean can a website really make me want to find the nearest Planned Parenthood? I’ve never even heard about Girls, Inc. until today. They are based in NYC too, that’s even more sobering.