The recent collaboration between family clothing retailer Lands’ End and pro-abortion celebrity Gloria Steinem is producing the result one might expect, forcing the company to end its relationship days after customers received their catalogs.
Lands’ End featured an interview with Steinem, an outspoken abortion activist, conducted by Lands’ End CEO Frederica Marchionni in the company’s spring catalog and on its website as part of a “Legend Series” – an “ode to individuals who have made a difference in both their respective industries and the world at large.”
The four-page spread, Marchionni and Steinem discuss their similarities, Steinem’s failed efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, her “incredible life,” style and the abortion advocate’s sage wisdom.
“I have always strived to lead with purpose and can’t help but be inspired by your incredible life; if there were one lesson you could bestow on those who look to you as their beacon, what would it be?” Marchionni questioned.
“The truth is that each person is a unique miracle, a combination of millennia of heredity and environment that could never have happened before in exactly the same way, and could never happen again in in exactly the same way,” Steinem replied. “Yet at the same time, we share everything as human beings. We can both find our unique voice and realize that as human beings, we are linked, not ranked.”
The feature includes several references to Steinem’s new book, and describes her as “the woman who paved the way” by “changing the world one word at a time.”
“I just want to thank you for joining us, on behalf of myself, the men and women at Lands’ End, and our customers,” Marchionni told Steinem. “Thank you for sitting down with me and for everything you have done with your meaningful life.”
The article, which also promised donations from Lands’ End to Steinem’s pro-abortion Fund For Women’s Equality, sparked immediate backlash from both pro-life advocates and customers alike.
“Those of us who love family, love children, are completely puzzled why you would promote a very vocal pro abortion celebrity,” one customer posted to the company’s Facebook page, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Are you anti-child? You want to kill off possible future customers?”
The controversy also convinced Tolton Catholic High School in Columbia, Missouri to sever its five year relationship with Lands’ End as the school’s student uniform provider, ABC 17 reports.
“We believe unequivocally that all life is sacred, from conception until natural death,” according to a letter school administrators sent home to parents this week. “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.”
The Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City, which oversees 37 elementary schools and three high schools in 38 counties, told the news site it plans to spread the word about Lands’ End to ensure other schools are aware of the company’s Steinem endorsement.
“We are supportive of Fr. Tolton High School’s decision to no longer use Lands’ End as a uniform supplier,” Sister Julie Brandt, associate superintendent of diocese schools, told ABC 17. “We will be contacting all of our schools to make them aware of Tolton High School’s decision and the facts related to that decision.
“We’re not aware of how many other diocesan schools use Lands’ End as an official supplier, but we want all the schools to be aware of the situation when the local pastors, principals and advisory boards make their decisions on uniform companies.”
Other groups like The Radiance Foundation, a pro-life organization, condemned the Lands’ End spread on social media.
Marchionni “praises Steinem for ‘everything you have done with your meaningful life’ … which has been dedicated to pushing abortion-on-demand, with zero restrictions,” the Foundation posted to Facebook. “Interestingly, neither of these women would be here if their mothers had aborted them.”
The complaints convinced Lands’ End to remove the feature from its website, and to issue an apology, which then sparked criticism from pro-abortion advocates.
“Some customers were troubled and concerned that we featured an interview with Gloria Steinem in a recent catalog,” read the company’s apology. “It was never our intention to raise a divisive political or religious issue, so when some of our customers saw the recent promotion that way, we heard them. We sincerely apologize for any offense.”
That apparently didn’t sit well with Nell Minow, a shareholder and activist who vented her frustrations on the company’s Facebook page.
“As a long-time customer, I am horrified by this response, which I assure you will create far more hostility than the original interview,” Minow wrote, according to the Times.
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