Dov Charney’s American Apparel and Los Angeles Apparel It Runs in The Family (April 2025) G.M.

Описание: Los Angeles Apparel (LAA) was formed in 2016 by Dov Charney after his departure from American Apparel. It boasts a plethora of sustainable missions it claims to follow. The vertically-integrated company says its a leader in sustainability with attention to circularity, creates a “family-like” working community with fair wages, supports domestic farms, and uses responsible sourcing o f cotton. While some of these statements seem to be true, Los Angeles Apparel provides no evidence, and represents a neoliberal method to activism. Reviewed is the background of the brand, how the CEO, Dov Charney, controls LAA, how his influence becomes apparent, and the context surrounding the brand, its location and employees.

Examined is how Los Angeles Apparel uses greenwashing tactics, activist campaigns, and social media marketing to cover up a lack of transparency and bring in more profit. I will do so by examining the company’s strategic use of imagery, subjects, and language in the campaigns. I conclude by connecting how this lack of transparency of sustainable workplace practices translates to the company’s beliefs, activist campaigns, and how they inspired a generation of neoliberal individuals.

G.M. is a third-year student at the University of Toronto majoring in Art History with minors in Visual Studies and Archaeology. Her interests lie in Internet art and filmmaking.