Following our recent posts on American Apparel's hiring practices and general business practices, the company issued the following statement on its website today. And Dov Charney included his phone number:

Press: A Statement about Hiring from American Apparel
June 14, 2010 14:12 PT
In light of recent erroneous online coverage of American Apparel's hiring and retention policies we are issuing this brief statement to clarify:

American Apparel does not hire or retain applicants based on 'beauty.' Our main priority is finding people with a strong sense of style who can inspire customers as they make selections from our extensive line. This is an integral part of the job, and we look for people who will enjoy it as a creative outlet. It has never been the policy of American Apparel, as some blogs claim, to fire employees who are not "good looking" or any of the other accusations implied by the anonymous or unverified third party sources. The company legitimately reviews current photographs of job applications and employees to consider their sense of style and the way in which they present themselves. Through personal interviews, we evaluate whether they possess the skills and personality required to successfully sell our products. This is a standard practice among fashion-forward retailers.

American Apparel has built itself on being open and honest, so we're happy to answer questions and personally address the concerns of anyone interested in having a dialog. You can reach our CEO directly at 213 923 7943 or at dov@americanapparel.net. And to address what has been most lost in this discussion, American Apparel is in fact continuing to hire in a major way (over 1,000 factory workers in recent weeks alone and hundreds more for retail internationally). We always accept resumes, and of course photos showing your personal style, either online or at one of our open calls worldwide.

[Dov—when we called today, your voicemail wasn't set up. FYI.]