Lands' End apologized Thursday for featuring feminist icon Gloria Steinem in its spring catalog and scrubbed all mentions of her from its website after receiving blowback from some customers.
"We understand that some of our customers were offended by the inclusion of an interview in a recent catalog with Gloria Steinem on her quest for women's equality," the company said in a statement. "We thought it was a good idea and we heard from our customers that, for different reasons, it wasn't. For that, we sincerely apologize."
It was a good idea, actually.
But here's the sort of thing they heard:
"This family will not buy one single thing from Lands End ever again unless this drive highlighted by Gloria Steinem is fully retracted. You've had great customer service for book bags for us in the past ... never again!!! Lauding Gloria Steinem is beyond what I can understand from a company that 'appears' to celebrate family." (Posted to the company's Facebook page.)
"The drive" likely refers to the fact that the catalog also offered the option to have the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition logo monogrammed on various Lands' End items, which would trigger a $3 donation from Lands' End to the ERA Coalition's Fund for Women's Equality.
All mentions of an ERA Coalition logo appear to have been scrubbed from the company website as well.
The apology has drummed up its own storm — and not the kind of storm that can be taken care of with a cute pair of Lands' End rain boots.
"Well, now that you've pulled it, I won't be placing my order," another (former?) customer wrote on the company Facebook page, echoing hundreds of other angry comments. "I don't intend to teach my children that anyone should do business with a company that is ashamed to even talk about feminism. You see equal rights as a divisive issue? Thanks for letting me know not to give you my money."
As of midmorning Friday, close to 4,000 people had commented on the company's Facebook post that addresses the flap.
Blagica Bottigliero, a 39-year-old digital marketer from Oak Park, shared news of the apology on the Facebook page for her neighborhood moms group.
"I'm a little ticked off right now," she told me.
Bottigliero is a Lands' End loyalist, ordering the majority of shoes, clothing, accessories and outerwear for her two kids, 6 and 3, from the catalog annually, she said. She received the catalog featuring Gloria Steinem at home and was initially delighted.
"I thought, 'Wow! Not only do I love Lands' End, but they went ahead and put Gloria in here!'" Bottigliero said. "I was stoked."
She is, like many of us, scratching her head over the apology.
"The importance of global women's rights and equality, that's all I got from that piece," she said. "Here's a brand that understands history and understands the importance of advocating for women and girls in our world and is featuring a story of someone who helped make that happen. That's what I got. It's not just about clothes and oh, here's what's cute for spring."
She called Lands' End customer service to voice her displeasure and urged her fellow Oak Park moms to do the same.
"I told a supervisor, 'Please take me off your email list and catalog list,'" she said. "And I asked, 'How are you doing?' They said, 'It's been like this all day: A lot of phone calls, and we are taking phone numbers and an executive will call you back.'"
An executive hadn't yet called back as of Friday morning, but Bottigliero has her questions at the ready.
"The first thing I want to ask them is, 'How was what you did in that spread political? Did you see it as political or religious?' I would love to understand the logic that went into pulling the spread and apologizing. What went into the idea to feature Ms. Steinem in the first place, and how did that so quickly change?"
All good questions.
I reached out to Lands' End on Friday morning via phone and email and was offered the following emailed statement:
"Lands' End is committed to providing our loyal customers and their families with stylish, affordable, well-made clothing. We greatly respect and appreciate the passion people have for our brand. It was never our intention to raise a divisive political or religious issue, so when some of our customers saw a recent promotion that way, we heard them. We sincerely apologize for any offense."
It's a sad day when women's equality is considered divisive and offensive. And an ever sadder one when a corporation that relies so heavily on women's dollars agrees.
Twitter @heidistevens13