When I started brainstorming about topics for my first blog post, I immediately thought of my favorite clothing store. You have probably heard of this massive company founded in 1984 because it has taken the fashion world by storm. It was rated the third most popular female clothing brand by Business Insider and has been confirmed as the fifth largest specialty retailer in the United States. Teen girls obsess over this aesthetic brand and our own Grove City Outlet Mall is getting one this April.
This store is Forever 21.
Founded by the intensely religious couple Don and Jin Sook Chang, the business decided to print small text on the bottom of their unmistakable and iconic bright yellow bags. This small print has been noticed by millions of consumers and speaks volumes about the company. It is not a long message, sermon, or cross. The only thing their bag says is “John 3:16”.
With this simple verse, Forever 21 has unabashedly shared the Gospel in monumental ways that churches could only dream of achieving. This simple message is spread primarily to teenage girls, but also reaches mothers shopping for their daughters, boys shopping for their girlfriends, and a wide range of people with varying ages and diverse backgrounds. By using their massive reach, the owners decided to expose all of their consumers to something much more important than a crop top.
By not claiming to be a “Christian Company” or affiliate their brand with a religious bias, the founders are able to reach a much bigger audience than if they called themselves “Forever Disciples” or “Forever 70×7”. Their clothing line is secular, but still holds up to a specific standard. The appealing clothing draws in massive crowds without scaring them away with intensely religious merchandise. Instead of shoving the Gospel in the customer’s face, the Changs decided to gently expose their audience to a greater truth.
By posting the verse on the bag, consumers who are not familiar with the Gospel are inclined to google the verse. This sparks their interest in the Bible and opens the door to a Christian conversation. It is a great way to spread God’s word in a business without being aggressive or exclusive.
Forever 21 does a great job of subtly contributing to the mission of the church while simultaneously running an incredibly successful and modest business.
Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-favorite-clothing-brands-2017-10#3-forever-21-8
https://www.forever21.com/us/shop/info/aboutus
https://babe.net/2017/05/09/forever-21-put-weird-bible-verse-bottom-bags-301
I never knew this about Forever 21! Its really awesome to see businesses using the most subtle ways to share the Gospel but it have such a huge impact!
Super cool. Forever 21 is one of my favorite stores too. I had heard similar things about them, but I did not know most of this! My main question about them is how they view their responsibility to balance trendiness with modesty. Would love to hear your thoughts on that sometime.
Very interesting topic! I had never realized that this brand was owned by such courageous Christians! It’s so encouraging to see that owning a redemptive business doesn’t necessarily have to be overtly intense about their mission. Thank you for your post!
Great post! I highly recommend looking into the story of Don and Jin Sook Chang, who emigrated from South Korea. They have an incredible rags to riches story.
This post is super cool. I did not know that Forever 21 did this and I think it is a great example of what business owners can do to combine business endeavors and the mission of the church. It is so cool that a gesture so small can end up reaching such a large group of people. Great post and insight.