September 27, 2010
Mike Jeffries
CEO
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
6301 Fitch Path
New Albany, OH 43054-9269
Dear Mr. Jeffries:
We are parents, teenagers, health care professionals, faith organizations, environmental health and
justice groups writing to express our concerns about the Abercrombie & Fitch Company’s practice of
spraying fragrance via air sprayers at frequent intervals in your stores and in common spaces outside.
A significant percentage of the population reports adverse effects to fragrance productsi, and a growing
number of establishments such as hospitals, universities and governmental offices are implementing
fragrance-free policies to protect health and improve indoor air quality.ii In 2009, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control implemented a fragrance-free policy for all its offices nationwide, with a goal of
preventing work-related illnesses and preventing indoor air pollution.iii
For your 10,000 workers and the customers and bystanders of your 300-plus stores nationwide, the
constant exposure to fragrance chemicals is a health concern. A recent analysis of the particular
chemicals in the cologne your company is spraying raises our concerns further.
A May 2010 report by Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Environmental Working Group, “Not So Sexy:
The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance,” documents a laboratory analysis of 17 top-selling
fragrances, including your flagship scent, Abercrombie & Fitch Fierceiv. The analysis found that A&F
Fierce cologne contains:

11 hidden chemicals not listed on the label.

8 sensitizing chemicals associated with allergic reactions such as headaches, wheezing, asthma,
contact dermatitis, infant diarrhea and vomiting, reduced pulmonary function and irritation.
More than 30% of the general population and 37% of people with asthma report adverse effects
from scented products, according to a study published in Journal of Environmental Health.v
• Campaign Steering Committee •
• Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow • Breast Cancer Fund • Clean Water Action • Commonweal • Environmental
Working Group • Friends of The Earth • Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition • Women’s Voices for the Earth •
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics • c/o Breast Cancer Fund • 1388 Sutter Street #400 • San Francisco, CA 94109
t 415- 346-8223 • f 415- 346-2975 • www.safecosmetics.org • info@breastcancerfund.org

Diethyl phthalate at a concentration of 3,500 parts per million. This phthalate has been linked in
recent human studies to sperm damage in adult men, abnormal reproductive development in
infants, and Attention Deficit Disorder in children.vi A study by Harvard University researchers
suggests that a single use of phthalate-containing cologne can markedly increase the level of
diethyl phthalate in a person’s body. vii
Of greatest concern is the fact that many young people and pregnant women are being exposed to
these chemicals in your stores, at a time when they are most vulnerable to the effects of sensitizing and
hormone-disrupting chemicals.
For the health of your workers, customers and the people who work and shop nearby, we urge
Abercrombie & Fitch to immediately stop the practice of spraying cologne in your stores and outside
common spaces. We are pleased to see that some progress has already been made. The Abercrombie &
Fitch store in the Village at Corte Madera mall in Marin County, Calif., responded to complaints about its
fragrance-spraying policy by agreeing to remove two fragrance sprayers from the front of the store. viii
This demonstrates that simple changes can be implemented to protect health and the environment.
Over the longer term, we urge Abercrombie & Fitch to reformulate Fierce cologne and other
Abercrombie & Fitch branded personal care products to remove hazardous chemicals, based on recent
science and using a precautionary approach, and to fully disclose the chemicals in your fragrance.
We hope you will take this opportunity to become champions of environmental health and safety, and
to demonstrate your commitment to the health and well-being of your customers, workers and the
public at large.
Sincerely,
Lisa Archer
National Coordinator
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Ken Cook
President
Environmental Working Group
Jeanne Rizzo, RN
President & CEO
Breast Cancer Fund
Cindy Luppi
New England Co-Director
Clean Water Action
Judi Shils
Executive Director
Teens Turning Green
Erin Switalski
Executive Director
Women’s Voices for the Earth
Page 2
Heather Sarantis
Women’s Health Program Manager
Commonweal
Patricia Bellasalma, Esq
President
California Chapter National Organization for
Women
Joan Blades
Co-Founder & President
MomsRising.org
Ann L. Purchase, MS, RN
Associate Director, Education, Practice &
Research
New York Nurses Association
Christopher Gavigan
CEO & Executive Director
Healthy Child, Healthy World
Angel De Fazio
Executive Director/President
National Toxic Encechalopathy Foundation
Kathleen A. Curtis, LPN
Policy Director
Clean New York
Sylvia Weber, MSN, PCNS
Government Relations
Rhode Island State Nurses Association
Judith Robinson
Associate Director
Environmental Health Fund
Carole Bergeron, PhD, RN
Executive Director
Connecticut Nurses’ Association
Connecticut Nurses’ Foundation
Ken Mosesian
Executive Director
The American Fertility Association
Julia Liou
Collaborative Manager
California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
Devra Lee Davis, PhD MPH
Founder
Environmental Health Trust
Lois Gibbs
Executive Director
Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ)
Ivy Sager-Rosenthal
Campaign Director
Washington Toxics Coalition
Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis
Program Director
Oregon Environmental Council
Kristen Welker-Hood, ScD, MSN, RN
Director, Environment and Health Programs
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Ian Illuminato
Health and Environment Campaigner
Friends of the Earth
Laurie Meadoff
CEO
Cancer Schmancer
Martha Dina Argüello
Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility –
Los Angeles
Mary Brune
Project Director
Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS)
Page 3
Rick Smith, PhD
Executive Director
Environmental Defence Canada
Mona Lisa Wallace, Esq
President
San Francisco Chapter National Organization for
Women
Miriam Yeung
Executive Director
National Asian Pacific American Women's
Forum
National Institute for Reproductive Health
Robyn O'Brien
Founder
AllergyKids Foundation
Alicia Harris
Program Associate
Breast Cancer Action
Rebecca Mullaney
Program Director
Next Generation
Wood Turner
Executive Director
ClimateCounts.org
Amy Jussel
Founder/Executive Director
Shaping Youth
Linda Hillyer
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Project Director
Boston Self Help Center
CC:
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
2367 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Jonathan E. Ramsden
Chief Financial Officer
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Rep. Ed Markey
2108 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Diane Chang
Exec. VP of Sourcing
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin
2446 Rayburn Building
Washington DC 20515
Leslee K. Herro
Exec. VP of Planning and Allocation
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
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i
Caress, SM and Steinemann, AC. “Prevalence of Fragrance Sensitivity in the American Population.” Journal of
Environmental Health 2009; 71(7): 46-50.
ii
National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation website page of Fragrance-Free Policies for Educational Institutions,
Government Offices, Medical Institutions; accessed June 2, 2010 http://www.national-toxic-encephalopathyfoundation.org/schools.htm
iii
American Chronicle; May 1, 2010; “US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Establishes Fragrance-Free
Policy in all its Offices.” By Christiane Tourtet B.A.http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/154089
iv
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Environmental Working Group; May 12, 2010; “Not So Sexy: The Health Risks
of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance.” http://safecosmetics.org/downloads/NotSoSexy_report_May2010.pdf
v
Fierce contained 8 chemicals classified as sensitizers or chemicals with sensitizing potential according to the
International Fragrance Association, the European Union or the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Health effects
associated with fragranced products and percentage of the population reporting adverse reactions: Caress, SM and
Steinemann, AC. Prevalence of Fragrance Sensitivity in the American Population. Journal of Environmental Health
2009; 71(7): 46-50.
vi
Swan SH, Main KM, Liu F, Stewart SL, Kruse RL, Calafat AM, et al. 2005. “Decrease in anogenital distance
among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure.” Environmental Health Perspectives 113(8):1056-61; Swan
SH. 2008. “Environmental phthalate exposure in relation to reproductive outcomes and other health endpoints in
humans.” Environmental Research 108(2): 177-84; Duty SM, Singh NP, Silva MJ, Barr DB, Brock JW, Ryan L, et
al. 2003. “The Relationship between Environmental Exposures to Phthalates and DNA Damage in Human Sperm
Using the Neutral Comet Assay.” Environmental Health Perspectives 111(9): 1164-9; Engel SM, Miodovnik A,
Canfield RL, Zhu C, Silva MJ, Calafat AM, Wolff MS. 2010 “Prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with
childhood behavior and executive functioning.” Environmental Health Perspectives in press.
vii
Duty SM, Ackerman RM, Calafat AM Hauser R. 2005. “Personal care product use predicts urinary concentrations
of some phthalate monoesters.” Environmental Health Perspectives 113(11): 1530-5.
viii
Marin Independent Journal; May 24, 2010; “Marin Teen Group Pressures Abercrombie & Fitch on Store
Perfume.” By Will Jason. http://www.marinij.com/ci_15152622?source=most_viewed
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