Abercrombie and Fitch fragrance may hurt men's fertility

Two dozen groups headed by the student led advocacy organization, Teens Turning Green, have demanded that Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) stop spraying its signature fragrance, Fierce, inside and outside of its stores.  The scent of Fierce permeates the store's vast interior including the dressing rooms, and is sprayed constantly by young male and female employees of the popular retail chain.

A recent report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics revealed that A&F's Fierce contains 11 secret chemicals not listed on the label, as well as high levels of a known hormone disrupting chemical shown to harm male reproductive health.  The chemical, diethyl phthalate, has been linked in multiple human studies to cause sperm damage in adult men as well as abnormal reproductive development in baby boys.

"It's ironic and disturbing that A&F markets itself with images of manly men, and yet is spraying chemicals that may actually cause sperm damage," said Lauren Pey of Teens Turning Green.

Groups and individuals have banded together in an attempt to stop this potentially harmful practice from continuing and have  co-signed a letter to A&F CEO, Mike Jeffries, damanding an end to this practice.  Included among the protestors are The American Fertility Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, MomsRising, and the State Nurses Association.

In response, A&F posted a letter on its Facebook fan page stating that Fierce's formulation is in compliance with the International Fragrance Research Association(IFRA).  However, IFRA has itself been the subject of controversy and speculation by a variety of watchdog agencies, including the Cancer Prevention Coalition, which recently linked IFRA approved fragrance ingredients with a variety of health problems.    

Based on A&F's response, it is unlikely that the store chain will voluntarily elminate the marketing or production of Fierce in the near future.