In a scathing case of guilt by association, women across America are boycotting Ivanka Trump‘s fashion line and the stores that carry it.
The boycott was started by Shannon Coulter, a brand and digital strategist in San Francisco, who launched the #GrabYourWallet Twitter campaign in order to get people to stop buying the Ivanka Trump Collection, which includes clothing, handbags, jewelry, eyewear, and women’s and kids shoes. From Coulter’s perspective, Ivanka’s steadfast support of her father, especially in light of the leaked Access Hollywood tape in which the GOP candidate can be heard bragging about sexually assaulting women with no repercussions, negates her and her brand’s stance as a symbol of female empowerment.
“If Ivanka Trump had distanced herself from the campaign I would not be boycotting her,” Coulter said to The Guardian. “But something changed for me when that tape was released.”
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Coulter has amassed and published a list of retailers who carry the Ivanka Trump Collection, including Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Marshalls and Saks Off Fifth, and is encouraging her growing roster of supporters to reach out to their customer service teams to explain why they’re boycotting.
And it turns out that Coulter isn’t the only person whose traumatic experience was triggered by the Trump label. Lindsey Ledford, a student at the University of Maryland, described a feeling of suffocation to Cosmpolitan.com when she was admiring a blouse and spotted the Ivanka Trump tag.
“My first thought was, ‘Grab them by the p***y. We can do anything we want. Don’t even ask,’” and it triggered memories of her own past experiences of abuse. “None of them ever asked how I felt, what I was thinking, or what I wanted. That is what ‘Trump’ means to me: complete disregard for women and their bodies. It doesn’t matter if Ivanka’s name is in front of it, or Donald’s.”
The Twitter response to the campaign has been overwhelming, with countless supporters tweeting in favour of the boycott.
The #GrabYourWallet campaign, which is a direct reference to Trump’s now-infamous comments about grabbing women by their genitals, hit two million impressions as of yesterday, Coulter tweeted. And although all of the retailers who carry the Ivanka Trump Collection were contacted for a comment, only two responded: Nordstrom and Zappos. The latter declined to comment while Nordstrom said, “We have received some feedback from customers, though we don’t currently have plans to stop offering this brand.”
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And the ripple effect is making its way up to Canada, too.
It must be said, however, that some women are suffering for their cause.
So far, the campaign has enjoyed a grassroots-type success, but it also recently received a boost from actor Don Cheadle, who tweeted his support.
Coulter is quick to point out, however, that she’s not an Ivanka hater. It’s quite the opposite, in fact.
“She’s the head of an international, $100 million dollar a year brand. She’s sophisticated. I think she’s smarter than Donald Trump. Part of why I started the boycott is because I respect her as a businesswoman. We should hold her to a higher standard.”
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