I worked at Hollister from 2013–2017. The culture was so toxic even to the people they included. Everything was a beauty contest, the distorted mirrors were unavoidable, they would require you to purchase clothes if you wanted to keep your job, and then critique your outfit choice if it didn’t quite “fit” their ideals.

Because I was so young, it became my ‘normal.’ I couldn’t see how much it was hurting me to stay there until the Jeffries controversy in 2014 made me question a few things. They told us everything was going to change.

But even after he left and the company promised they’d turn over a new leaf, the changes were trivial and performative. It didn’t change how the employees felt like objects, or how the disabled or people of color were sent to the back room and brought out when management visited to make us appear more “diverse.” I could go on! But yeah, I’ll never trust this company.