My message to Adairs, sent through the site:

I’m really disappointed that you have chosen to be associated with the global brand of the sex industry, Playboy.
Playboy is first and foremost, a pornography corporation, magazines, x rated videos, prostitution all come under Playboy’s brand. Playboy’s marketing tactic is to branch out into other products – such as pencil cases, bed sheets and make up – in order to desensitise people to the fact that Playboy is porn and to create brand awareness of playboy to young people.
Adairs stocking the Playboy brand is a promotion Playboy and therefore, pornography.
As much as the Playboy brand tries to be “fun, sexy and glamorous” which is how you market these bed sheets, it really is just about a dirty old man and his paid ‘girlfriends.’ A more apt title for the ‘Mansion’ Collection would be the ‘brothel’ collection. Ditch the Playboy sheets, I won’t be shopping at Adairs until you do.

Thanks Collective Shout for once again informing me and empowering me to act!

Here’s what I wrote!

I have been alerted to the fact that Adairs is stocking and promoting a playboy range of linen. Indeed I see it here on your homepage as the feature advertisement.
Is Adairs deliberately choosing to ignore that in promoting this product you are not simply promotinga range of linene but a pornography industry that degrades and exploits women? So from an ethical point of view I am horrified and intend to boycott Adairs until the range is removed. I will also encourage other women to do so. But even from a marketing perspective do you believe women want a porn symbol all over their bedroom? I do not consider that sexy or alluring. This product would make me feel like an objectified pornstar in my own bedroom. I do not want my partner to be reminded of porn while he is in bed with me!
But even if it should somehow be a best seller, please make a stand against the normalisation of porn.
In anticipation of your response,
Tessa

Thanks for posting this.

I have written to the company and told them what I think.

I am so sick of women being devalued in this way, being educated the only worth they bring is a sexual one, or one that means they cook, clean and raise babies…………its like we arent worth anything else according to the media and it has to stop. Half of stay home parents and home makers need to be men, men need to see women in a more healthy way…….or this world is going to be one ugly place

(Message I just sent to Adairs through their website.)

Playboy? Really?

Is there a reason that you’ve decided to dump the family market which has frequented your stores in the past to go after those who will be enticed by being associated with pornography?

I know that it is up to shoppers to decide whether they should buy something from your playboy pornography collection or not but your decision to be be associated with a business that makes money out of objectifying women will keep me and my family out of your stores. I will also do my best to alert those in my sphere of influence of your connection to pornography.

A few complaints may not bother you and you may decide that carrying the playboy collection makes financial sense but surely business should be about more than profits.

I am disgusted by the decision to stock the “Mansion Collection” by Playboy in Adairs stores. By selling the Playboy brand in their stores, Adairs is promoting pornography. Pornography is psychologically and emotionally damaging to women, children and men. It degrades and objectifies women, sending the message that a woman’s only value is as a sex object. This is not what I want to teach my son, or my daughters. Clearly Adairs cares only about profits, and not about the fact that they are normalizing pornography and encouraging the exploitation of women.
I will not be shopping at Adairs again. I refuse to fund the pornography industry, or visit shops where I do not feel comfortable bringing my pre-school age children with me.
I belong to the largest women’s organisation in the world, with 2.5 million members worldwide. We meet in branches each week and discuss issues such as these. I will be telling all the women in my branch about Adairs partnership with a pornographic brand name.

I just got a reply back from the Adairs CEO. Anyone else get the same letter?

They refer to it being a fun & glamorous brand and representing it in a tasteful manner. Grrrr. I am drafting a reply, and then over & out.

“I sincerely apologise for any offence we may have caused you, this of course was never our intention.

At Adairs we pride ourselves in creating furnishing options to appeal to all of our customers. We chose our new Mansion collection to cater for our customer who is looking for something a little more fun and glamorous.

With this in mind and the fact that the vast majority of our internal team members are women whom we value and respect in every way we apologise if we have offended you by choosing to sell and market this product.

We have taken careful consideration with the styling of our marketing, packaging and photography to ensure that the new Mansion collection is represented in the most tasteful manner.

I thank you for taking the time to write your email as our customer’s feedback is important to us and I sincerely hope I have given you an insight into why we have chosen our new Mansion Range by Playboy.

Again, I thank you for your feedback and I assure you that all comments will be considered by the Adairs executive team.”

Hahaha, Deb same reply as I got from the CEO too.

Hi, I just wrote this (2nd) note to Adairs…

Hi there,
I wrote over two weeks ago to express my concern that your store had decided to promote Playboy with your new Mansion collection. Since I haven’t received a reply, I thought I should write again and reiterate my concern.

Playboy is a pornography brand, and by promoting their brand you are promoting the objectification and abuse of women that Playboy stands for. Not only are you promoting it, but you are directly supporting it by purchasing and selling their stock.

I wonder if you have considered selling Playboy magazines in your stores alongside the Mansion collection sheets. Of course you would never do this, but I argue that your promotion of the brand is just as inappropriate.

Your website claims that the Mansion Collection will make women’s bedrooms “fun, sexy and glamorous”. Playboy pornography is none of these things. Instead, your range perpetuates the myth that all women really want to be objectified like the women in Playboy magazines. I hope you can see how easily this view can lead to abuse.

Don’t write back to me and argue that your store is seeking to provide products that appeal to many different customers’ preferences. Objectifying and abusing women isn’t a “preference” that we need to tolerate in our society. It is something that I thought well-respected store like yours would try to stand up against.

I await your considered response informing me of what action Adairs will be taking to remove Playboy from their stores.

Sincerely,
Thomas McConaghey

I still haven’t received a reply, so I just sent my email (same as above) again. will they ever reply?

thomas

Don’t you have anything better to complain about! If you don’t like it, then don’t buy it. But don’t stop other people from buying it if they choose to. In fact, I just bought mine from Adairs!