A company with a very liberal outlook, Esprit supported various causes, was very charitible, in addition to being unique in their employee practices. They were run like a marketer, not a garment company. Esprit positioned themselves and their products in a positive manner as a company having socially conscious morals, disassociating themselves from the negativity often associated with the garment industry. The trendy clothing company placed an ad in Utne Reader in 1990 asking consumers to end conspicuous consumption. Ad Reads: &ldquo;<em>First we asked if it was biodegradable, than we inquired if it was recyclable, now we may be asking whether we need it at all.</em>&rdquo; The message in the essay-style advertisement, &ldquo;A plea for responsible consumption,&rdquo; is that Americans buy too much and for the wrong reasons. Eric Utne, the Utne Reader&rsquo;s publisher, said the ad attracted a lot of attention. He thinks it&rsquo;s a model for the future and claims that &ldquo;<em>the emerging consumer and the changing mainstream want information, not hype</em>.&rdquo; Although Esprit has an excellent reputation for offering their workforce progressive benefits, some of their clothes are manufactured in contract sweat shops.