The INSIDER Summary:
- West Coast-based branding firm Word claims that Forever 21 copied one of its popular shirts.
- Proceeds from the Word shirt are donated to Planned Parenthood.
- Both shirts show the word "woman" written in different languages.
- Forever 21 has not responded to Word's allegations at the time of this story.
Forever 21 is once again facing accusations that it has ripped off a design from an independent designer.
Word Agency, a West Coast-based branding and PR firm, claims that Forever 21 copied a T-shirt design it created to raise money for Planned Parenthood. The agency called out the fast fashion brand in a heated Instagram post, which we first saw on Jezebel.
"We're not ones to point fingers but this looks mighty familiar," the caption on Word's Instagram post reads. "For the record, we created this shirt with a purpose. Too bad they removed the Swahili, Arabic, Hebrew & Japanese."
Word's shirt is on the left, and the Forever 21 shirt is on the right. Both shirts show the word "woman" written in several different languages.
Many Word fans agreed in the comments of the Instagram post that the shirts look similar. "Just ordered mine today to support the cause!" one person wrote. "This happens all the time. They could've at least put their own twist to it," another person commented. "Thievery!! Just order mine and will spread the word and the love!" a third person wrote.
However, there are some differences between the two shirts.
The Word version, which is called the "Creator" shirt, features four more languages than the Forever 21 shirt. It also features the word "creator." Additionally, the Word shirt is a T-shirt and the Forever 21 shirt is a muscle tank top.
The $25 shirt is listed on Word's website here. It appears that the Forever 21 version is no longer for sale online.
Angela Carrasco and Zoila Darton, the founders of Word, created the shirts with a charitable intention; 25% of proceeds from the shirts go to Planned Parenthood. The duo began selling the "Creator" shirt in late July, and claim to have discovered the Forever 21 shirt on September 14.
"We were just so utterly confused," Carrasco told Jezebel.
"Maybe they want to capitalize off of feminism," Darton said. "But feminism is not new to me, it’s something that I really believe, so to see it being co-opted this way is shocking."
Forever 21 has not responded to Darton and Carrasco's allegations. However, Darton had a plea for the fast fashion giant: "Forever 21, if you're reading this, please donate the money you've made off of this shirt to Planned Parenthood. Because that's what this was all about."
INSIDER has contacted both Forever 21 and Word for comment.
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