The Change.org petition
was started late last week after its creator noticed that plus-size
jeans at Old Navy were selling for upwards of $15 more per pair than the
smaller sizes. Meanwhile, men’s jeans were the same price regardless of
size.
“I was fine paying the extra money as a plus-sized woman, because,
you know, more fabric equals higher cost of manufacture,” writes the
petitioner. “However, selling jeans to larger-sized men at the same cost
as they sell to smaller men not only negates the cost of manufacture
argument, but indicates that Old Navy is participating in both sexism
and sizeism, directed only at women.”
Additionally, the petition points out that there is a “Women’s Plus” section at Old Navy but no equivalent in men’s apparel.
We reached out to Old Navy parent company Gap Inc., where a rep for
the company told us the retail giant has a reason for charging more for
the plus-size women’s items.
The rep explains that while men’s bigger sizes are merely larger
versions of the same clothing, Old Navy puts in additional work behind
the scenes for women’s clothing.
“They are created by a team of designers who are experts in creating
the most flattering and on-trend plus styles,” says the rep in an e-mail
to Consumerist, “which includes curve-enhancing and curve-flattering
elements such as four-way stretch materials and contoured waistbands,
which most men’s garments do not include. This higher price point
reflects the selection of unique fabrics and design elements.”
UPDATE: After seeing Old Navy’s statement,
petitioner Renee Posey tells Consumerist that the company is trying to
“obfuscate the truth, appease the plus-sized female consumer, and
frankly make this whole thing go away.”
She claims that the “curve-enhancing” and “curve-flattering” design
elements, like contoured waistbands and and four-way stretch materials,
are also included in Old Navy’s regular women’s line.
“So the implication that these elements are something extra not
included in their regular line, and thus worthy of the up-charge, is
blatantly false,” writes Posey.
She also questions Old Navy’s investment in a special design team for
its plus-size products, as there are fewer options for larger sizes.
Posey claims, for example, that the regular women’s size range offers
161 choices of coats while the “Women’s Plus” only offers 32 options.
“Overall, their assertion that the higher price reflects the
‘selection of unique fabrics and design elements’ falls flat,” writes
Posey. “They have been called out on unfair pricing practices and
they’re simply trying to spin it back in their direction so they can
maintain incredibly high profit margins by keeping up business as
usual.”
When men go shopping at Old Navy, it doesn’t matter what
size they buy; prices don’t vary. But that’s not the same for women, who
may have to pay extra if they purchase plus-size items. In just a few
days, nearly 19,000 people have petitioned the retailer asking it to end
this policy, but Old Navy claims there is a reason that it charges more
for larger female sizes.