The use of Photoshop by the fashion industry is no secret. Whether it's at an advertisement for a famous designer's new collection or an editorial spread in a top fashion magazine, chances are the photo has been altered from reality in some way. ModCloth is hoping to change that.
ModCloth recently signed an anti-air brushing petition that calls for advertisers to not change the physical features of the people in their ads, or if they do, note that the photo has been altered. The online retailer is the first fashion company to sign the petition.
"It is a courageous movement that we were excited to get behind. We have agreed to label images of models who have been materially Photoshopped because that's what we all deserve — to know the truth," ModCloth wrote on its official blog.
The petition, called the Heroes Pledge for Advertisers, comes from the Brave Girls Alliance, a think tank dedicated to empowering young women. The organization is also behind the Truth in Advertising Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress in March. Signers of the pledge agree to:
"1. To do our best not to change the shape, size, proportion, color and/or remove/enhance the physical features, of the people in our ads in post-production.
2. That if we do materially change* the people in our ad(s), we will add a 'Truth In Advertising' label to these ads to ensure consumers, in particular children and teens, do not confuse an advertising 'ideal' with what's real. (Specific Label Language and Size Requirements TBD.)
3. Not to run these ads in media where children under 13 might see them.
* Material change means only changes to a person's shape, size, proportion, color, removal and/or enhancement of individual features. If you want to photoshop a blue sky bluer; clean up a fly-away hair; fix a dog's smile...have at it; because no harm results."
"When you see in the public this kind of change in attitude of embracing a company that does what's right, companies will make the shift," ModCloth CMO Nancy Ramamurthi told "Forbes."
Some fashion retailers have come under fire recently for their use of images that may be harmful to young women. Gap received criticism for an Aug. 4 tweet that showed an unusually thin model. Many thought American Apparel's back-to-school ads perpetuated the "Lolita" fantasy, turning young women into sexual objects. Nine West's new ad campaign outraged many who thought advertisements for its "Starter Husband Hunting" or "First Day of Kindergarten" shoes were just plain sexist.
Clearly, ModCloth's support in changing the way fashion advertisements make us feel about ourselves couldn't come at a better time.
