An online campaign is attempting to "rebrand" Abercrombie & Fitch by donating the company's clothes to the homeless, after an author alleged that company CEO Mike Jeffries "doesn't want larger people shopping in his store."

The comments, made by Robin Lewis, were included in a Business Insider article published earlier this month. The piece also referenced, and breathed new life into, a 2006 Salon article in which Jeffries admits that A&F markets to "cool kids," while excluding those who are unattractive or overweight.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he says. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

Since the comments went viral, an online campaign to undermine A&F's "cool kids" image has gained steam. Los Angeles-based writer Greg Karber launched the campaign, which uses the hashtag #FitchTheHomeless, in a video posted to YouTube on Monday.

"I was really upset by the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO's comments, and I wanted to do something to turn that negative energy into a positive social good," Karber told Mashable in an email.

In the video, which has since attracted nearly 400,000 hits, Karber encourages viewers to donate their Abercrombie & Fitch clothing to a local homeless shelter, and then share what they're doing on social media.

His goal? To make Abercrombie & Fitch "the world's number one brand of homeless apparel."

Some commenters have criticized the campaign for objectifying and demeaning homeless people, but Karber said this was not his intention.

"I see the video as a way to channel populist anger at A&F toward something positive," he said. "Hopefully, my video will raise awareness of the problem of homelessness and will get people talking. I am glad it's started a discussion about the media representations of homeless people."

Abercrombie and Fitch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What do you think of the #FitchTheHomeless campaign? Tell us in the comments, below.

Screenshot image courtesy of YouTube, gkarber