The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Forever 21 Spreads Gospel with Every Purchase

Sometime last year, we noticed the words "John 3:16" printed on the bottom of a Forever 21 shopping bag. Weird—that was our first thought. Why did they reference a Bible verse on the bottom of all their iconic yellow and black shopping bags?

Mind you, we had been shopping at the store for at least a year without ever noticing the message. We proceeded to google the mysterious message out of further curiosity (apparently, we weren't paying close enough attention in Sunday school since John 3:16 is one of the most widely quoted verses in Scripture).

The verse reads, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

We tried to connect the dots...Does the phrase "forever twenty-one" have something to do with the "everlasting life" bit? Seemed like a stretch. No, the owners must be God-fearing Christians, we decided.

A little more detective work and we discovered that Forever 21's owners, Don Chang and his wife Jin, are indeed devout Christians. According to an article in The New York Sun, a spokesperson for the company says the inscription is a "demonstration of the owners' faith."

Mystery solved. As far as we're concerned, it's a privately owned company with the freedom to write whatever they wish on their bags. Could it be seen as prostelitizing? Sure. Strategic marketing? Absolutely. Offensive? Hardly. After all, if sexually explicit and violent imagery can be shown all over the place, why not a Bible verse? Personally, we're more offended by ads for antibacterial soap—the science is faulty and we're sick of being scared into thinking we'll die of bird flu if we don't scrub our hands with the fervor of Lady Macbeth.

But enough from us, what do you think? Is the message on the Forever 21 bags a form of unwelcome evangelism or harmless self-expression? And is it in line with the rest of the company's operations?

Comments
um...i am a "god-fearing" christian too as you say and i think the message is a good thing. maybe more people will learn about god!!
#1 shauna67 on 2007-06-04 09:21 (Reply)
I think that this is a good thing. I had also been shopping at Forever 21 for a few years before I even noticed this. My first thought was that the store owners were good Christians. It makes me feel better about giving my money to a Christian founded business.
#2 Christina on 2009-01-08 12:28 (Reply)
I was really happy when I first noticed the quote- like you said, everyone else in our culture seems to have the freedom to express their views- I'm happy a christian company also feels they can express what they believe without fearing the repercussions of our society!
#3 Peaches on 2009-01-09 00:00 (Reply)
I inquired the same about a year and a half ago and none of the sales people had a clue if the owners were christians or not...."I knew!" I didn't push the issue, as many of the the sales people were of a different movement, and I was sure that the owners ...for this very freedomilized issue didn't want to make anyone feel persecuted...as sometimes "religion" does... they 'forever' ....just quietly pass along the "truth" MEEKLY, as if GOD delivered it softly..(w/o conviction or pressure) HIMSELF. I am happy to finally find out the truth behind "the bag" and frequently save them to recycle to other friends to pass along the chain of the word of GOD in which they so cleverly proclaimed.
#4 cathy sanders on 2009-05-18 21:09 (Reply)
I am proud of them. This country was founded under God Fearing beliefs somewhere along the way we took God out of everwhere... Then people wonder why america is in the condition that it is in. Thank u Forever21 for remembering the true living God we serve.
#5 Miriam on 2010-12-03 18:07 (Reply)
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