ModCloth Takes Its Truth in Advertising Campaign All the Way to Capitol Hill

Jihan Forbes
image

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and ModCloth’s Susan Gregg Koger. (Photo: Instagram)

ModCloth is on a mission to promote body positivity, and on Thursday the company took its efforts all the way to Washington, D.C. The e-tailer hosted an event on Capitol Hill in support of the Truth in Advertising Act of 2016, which asks the Federal Trade Commission to create advertising standards that would prevent excessive retouching of images.

The lifestyle brand was the first to sign the Truth in Advertising pledge approximately two years ago and is encouraging its shoppers to write their representatives and let them know that this is legislation they want passed. (ModCloth.com makes this supereasy with a link for users to submit words of encouragement online. So far, 2,794 letters of the 10,000 they’re looking for have been sent.)

“Portraying women in an honest and realistic way is essential to fulfilling our brand purpose of empowering women to be the best version of themselves,” ModCloth co-founder and chief creative officer Susan Gregg Koger said. “It demonstrates to young women that measurements are a fact, not a judgment. We want to lend our voice and the support of the ModCloth community to this movement to stop the extreme and harmful Photoshopping of women in advertisements.”

The bill’s supporters include Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. Lois Capps, and Rep. Theodore “Ted” Deutch, who were all in attendance. “What we see in advertisements and fashion magazines colors our expectations, even if those images are unknowingly altered,” said congresswoman Capps, who represents California’s 24th congressional district. “This especially affects young people who internalize this unrealistic ideal of beauty — leaving them at risk and vulnerable. We must do all we can to ensure that our nation’s consumers have the tools necessary to distinguish real life from fiction so that they can form a healthy body image.”

You can send a letter in support of the bill by clicking here.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.