The Clothes Calling Card Campaign Lets You Tell Retailers That They Are Losing Money By Not Carrying Your Size
Ever walked by a store and felt disappointment because they don’t carry your size? Have you ever wanted to tell a company that you would give them your money if they offer fun, stylish clothing in your size? Nicole Skews, a government administrator in New Zealand, decided to use her feminist online activism experience to take action on this cause. And the clothes calling card campaign was born.
Nicole told xojane.com that the calling card campaign was born from “ongoing conversations, amongst my friends and Twitter followers, about how some stores really struggle to give some women a reason to spend their money there.”
This brilliant idea lets retailers know that they are losing money by avoiding carrying a full size range which would include smaller sizes and plus sizes. It lets retailers know that a customer would gladly give that company their money if they expanded their size range outside of what is currently offered.
A friend of Nicole’s told her:
“I’m young, I have a full-time job, I’m financially irresponsible. It shouldn’t be this hard for me to buy clothes!”
When another friend jumped in, saying that if she had a calling card or letter to give to retailers, she would. Nicole says that’s when “my ears perked up at that and I thought, ‘Hang on, there’s something in that. We could do that.'”
According to Nicole, the mainstream clothing size range in New Zealand is between sizes 8 – 14. That is equivalent to sizes 6 – 12 in the US. She makes a valid point that it gives off the impression that there are retailers who don’t want people who don’t fit in that size range to be seen in their stores spending money, or be seen wearing their clothes. Lululemon, Rue 21 and Abercrombie & Fitch, anyone? Even Tim Gunn thinks it’s ridiculous that fashion stops at a size 12.
There are two physical cards, one to be handed over to a salesperson and the second to be left somewhere in the store, if the person doesn’t want to give it to an actual person. You can also download the image and post it on a retailer’s Facebook page or tweet it on Twitter tagging the retailer.
The cards are available here and 100% of the proceeds from any sales of the physical cards are being donated to Dress for Success in New Zealand. It’s free to download the card for social media use.
To check out Nicole’s story on xojane.com, click here.
What do you think of the calling card campaign? Would you hand out cards to retailers or post them on their social media pages? Please leave us a comment below and let us know.