Macy's on Friday began selling a line
of t-shirts to coincide with Gay Pride month.
The shirts will be available in 6
stores, including Boston Downtown, Columbus Easton, Los Angeles
Beverly Center, Macy's Minneapolis, Saint Louis West County and San
Francisco Union Square.
One-hundred percent of sales will go to
the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights
advocate, HRC
said in a blog post.
One shirt says “Vote Equality” and
another “Love Conquers Hate” along with the HRC logo.
The shirts will be displayed
prominently in stores along with HRC signage.
According to HRC, Macy's “has
consistently rated highly on the HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality
Index, the national standard in evaluating policies, practices and
diversity efforts relating to LGBT workers.”
Retailer Target
has been strongly criticized for its decision to sell Gay Pride
t-shirts at its online store. Most of the criticism has come
from groups in Minnesota which support a proposed state
constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Gay Pride shirts
benefiting a gay rights organization on sale in Macy's Minneapolis
store appears likely to face similar criticism. The retailer's
promotion of an HRC “Vote Equality” shirt during an election year
could spark nationwide interest.