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Let’s have a moment of silence for ModCloth

Mar. 17, 2017
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It might be time for us to start buying our cat-print A-line sundresses elsewhere.

Earlier this week, ModCloth broke the news to its employees that the company had been acquired by jet.com, which was acquired by Walmart in August. The deal officially closed yesterday, which makes it official: from this day forward, any money you spend on pug-shaped purses or canary-yellow cardigans will ultimately line the coffers of the Big Blue Beast.

Sure, business mergers and acquisitions happen all the time. But there’s something unsettling about Walmart’s takeover of this inclusive, feminist retail wonderland. Walmart is notorious for, well, just about every type of technically-not-illegal human rights violation a corporation could engage in: in 2011, they were sued for sexist employment discrimination, and they are notorious for their unnecessarily low wages and straight-up sleazy union-busting practices. And that’s not even touching on their appalling lack of tact (“Fat Girl Costumes”-gate of 2014, anyone?). 

Excuse us for thinking that Walmart might not be a natural, corporate fit for a company whose founder wrote a blog post last Wednesday notifying shoppers of ModCloth employees’ participation in the International Women’s Strike.

ModCloth isn’t the only company to have undergone an unsavory shakeup in the past couple years. After acquiring the American Apparel brand at the beginning of the year, Canadian company Gildan Activewear launched into an aggressive round of layoffs following the decision to move manufacturing overseas. While American Apparel was never exactly a paragon of virtue (they and their founder Dove Charney have been dogged by sexual harassment allegations for years), they were at least known for their anti-sweatshop manufacturing practices and for their commitment to American-based labor—but those priorities first started flying out the window following the company’s emergence from bankruptcy under new management back in 2015, and Gildan has made it clear that they have no interest in reversing course. And Nasty Gal, another company once lauded for its innovative practices and girl-power business ethic, went bankrupt late last year following reports of an increasingly toxic workplace culture.

So what’s a fashionable young adult with strong moral compunctions to do? Luckily, it seems like there’s never been a hipper time to launch an ethical clothing label, with companies like Alternative Apparel and Everlane leading the pack on basics at different price points. And if you’re missing your fix of quirky, original statement pieces? Well, we have a feeling thrift stores won’t be selling out to Walmart anytime soon.