Originally published on Care2

Every day we are flooded with images in the media that advertise hundreds upon hundreds of products. Many images touting an advertised product have been altered with Photoshop in one way or another, usually by changing the body of (more often) the female model.

The practice of altering these photos in ads and magazine articles is not uncommon and is done to fit with what is considered trendy or fashionable at the time, often by distorting the shape and size of the model’s body.

One clothing retailer has taken a stand against the use of Photoshop. Modcloth became one of the first companies to make a major public move in changing the culture of Photoshop and recently signed the Brave Girls Alliance Truth in Advertising Heroes Pledge. The pledge asks that advertisers “try to do their best not to change the shape, size, proportion, color and/or remove/enhance physical features; if they do, add a ‘Truth in Advertising’ label; and not run ads in media where children under 13 might see them.”

The pledge was created by the same group that supports the Truth in Advertising Act, a former advertising executive and the Eating Disorders Coalition, which asks advertisers to be clear and honest about their Photoshop practice. The bill was introduced earlier this year by Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lois Capps and Ted Deutch, and asks the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to better regulate advertisements for Photoshop. (The bill only touches on Photoshop in advertising, not editorial work which has First Amendment protection.)

While Modcloth took a major public stand against false advertising, not many other retailers or companies have taken the same measures to ban use of Photoshop. A few have taken small steps towards outlawing excess manipulation in ads, though.

For example, Aerie from American Eagle pledged to use “real” girls in their un-retouched photos. But when looking at the ads, one has to wonder what constitutes American Eagle’s definition of “real,” seeing as all the girls are within a single-digit dress size of each other and are still all slim, young and lighter-skinned.

It’s not just companies that are calling out Photoshop use in ads either; more celebrities and models are calling attention to altered photos of themselves.

While American Eagle may have made a pledge of their own to not use Photoshop, the point of signing the Truth in Advertising Heroes pledge is so that the company can be held accountable for using deceiving or altered bodies in their ads.

According to (multiple) studies, the effects of Photoshopped photos are much more prominent than expected.

Studies show that 53 percent of girls are unhappy with their bodies by the time they are 13 years old. By the time they are 17, this grows to 78 percent. According to a study from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 40 percent of girls who are 9 and 10 years old have tried to lose weight.

Perhaps the most alarming find from a Gale group study is that adolescent girls are more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, nuclear war or losing their parents.

The American Medical Association responded by adopting a new policy in 2011 to discourage using Photoshop excessively due to the established connection between altered/unrealistic images and eating disorders and body image problems among adolescents.

The use of Photoshop and altering women’s bodies in ads is so common, we often do not give it a second thought. But the effects of overusing Photoshop and drastically altering someone’s body has severe and undeniable consequences. Susan Koger, the founder of Modcloth, said that not using Photoshop (as well as using diverse bodies) would be “good for business” and that the fashion industry needs to “wake up and look around and try it out.”

If more companies followed Koger and Modcloth’s lead and took a stand against Photoshop, imagine how it could affect consumers’ body image — namely young, impressionable girls.

With the Truth in Advertising Act, the Heroes Pledge and companies like Modcloth, the future of the fashion industry may be taking a turn in the right direction toward less harmful and more truthful imagery.

Photo Credit: Piera Coppola via YouTube