Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
A popular teen retailer is coming under fire today for giving away promotional pens made to look like hypodermic needles in spite of the very real heroin epidemic occurring in the same city.
The Daily Mail is reporting on the outrage sparked by Urban Outfitter’s decision to promote a new pop-up hair salon in New York City named Hairroin by handing out its promo pens that are shaped like hypodermic needles. This is in spite of the fact that the area is the grips of a deadly heroin epidemic.
“This whole region is going through a massive heroin epidemic that has had devastating effects on the youth. Addiction, overdoses, and jail have been the result for many young people here,” wrote one citizen named only as Frank on the Consumerist website.
To appreciate the full scope of the irresponsibility of this kind of advertising to youth, this recent Associated Press (AP) article details just how extensive the heroin epidemic is in the U.S. at the present time.
In the area of New York where the pens are being actively marketed, the AP reports that just five years ago, the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence was serving just under 100 families a month. “Last month, the council helped more than 850 families; 80 percent of that increase was due to opiate and heroin addiction.”
Amy Weitman, a regular contributor at ModernMom.com came across the pens while shopping at an Urban Outfitters where a Hairroin Salon was operating.
“My 12-year-old was delighted by the freebie until I explained the significance and the fact that she could face suspension if she brought her ‘new pen’ to school,” Weitman wrote.
When she complained to the Hairroin managers, she was told that “these pens have been used for seven years as part of their promotional materials and they haven’t received any complaints. Apparently, I was the first.”
Megan Sayers, managing editor for ModernMom, isn’t buying it.
“It’s hard to believe that no one else has ever taken offense – these pens aren’t just tacky, they’re glamorizing an incredibly dangerous drug.”
But this isn’t the first time the Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters has been called out for its edgy promo material. It’s 2012 Christmas catalog was filled with so much profanity parents banded together to boycott the publication.
As if parents don’t have enough to do to keep their teens safe from the many negative trends in today’s risque culture, now they also have to be careful where their children shop!
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