… Abercrombie, known for its racy marketing campaigns aimed at teenagers, has pledged $10 million toward the construction of the emergency department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
The Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood on Tuesday urged the hospital to drop any plans to put Abercrombie’s name on the project, pointing to research that has shown a link between sexualized images of teens in the media and mental health problems in girls.
The advocacy group made its position public in a letter to the hospital Tuesday that was signed by about 70 pediatricians and academics from around the United States.
“Given this company’s appalling history of targeting children with sexualized marketing and clothing, no public health institution should be advertising Abercrombie & Fitch,” the letter states.
Major financial supporters of the hospital always are recognized with wall plaques or some other kind of honor, but officials haven’t determined if Abercrombie’s name will appear on signs in and around the emergency department to open in 2012, said Jon Fitzgerald, president of the hospital’s fundraising arm. …
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