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Teen Wins Battle Via Petition For Zara To Carry Plus Sizes

Zara

My, how have times changed! The voices of consumers continue to be heard and online petitions have paved the way for the masses to stand together when letting retailers know what they want.

Anna Riera is using petitions as a way to make an impact in the fashion industry. This 18-year-old psychology student recently took to Change.org to call out Zara, one of the largest international fashion companies. She called out the company to start selling XXL or size 46 (US 16) in its stores.

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Image: Change.org

This is not the first time Riera has taken on Inditex, the owner of Zara. Her previous petition called out the extremely thin mannequins that were seen in store windows, citing that mannequins should come in all shapes and sizes.

Riera is quickly reaching her 150,000 goal, with 97,300 supporters behind her. That large number has not gone unnoticed by Zara and Inditex. The retailer has now started offering XXL online and we hope that is just the beginning. Riera states in her petition:

“It is not only denying people the right to be able to shop in the most well-known stores in the world, but it is also saying that large sizes are not normal sizes, are not sizes that can be bought in any clothing shop. We need to start designing for people, not for stereotypes. We need to let go of labeling and discriminating against ourselves because we do not wear clothing according to our own physical sizes, but according to our personalities.”

We checked Zara.com and while the XXL offerings are not grand, it is a step in the right direction:

Zara XXL 1
Left: Layered Top, $22.50 / Right: Lace Top, $69.90
Zara XXL 2
Left: Contrast Print Tunic, $69.90 / Right: Midi Poplin Dress, $69.90

Riera spoke candidly with Spanish newspaper El Correo, admitting that while she herself has not encountered major issues with clothing sizes, she’s passionate about fashion being readily accessible to everyone because of her mother and friends who encounter problems when shopping for themselves:

“My mother, for example, is physically well, goes to the gym… but she sometimes has problems finding clothes in her size at these stores. Manufacturers must realize that a woman who wears a 44 or 46 is not a person with obesity problems or anything else.”

Kudos to Riera for taking a stand, not for herself, but for others, in helping change the fashion industry’s perception on the accessibility of fashion to sizes above a 12. We just hope this will lead Zara to offer sizes above a US 16 because we know of plenty of plus size women who would shop in Zara in a heartbeat.

Click here to check out Riera’s online petition for Zara.