Netflix's new documentary White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch digs deeper into the sordid past of the popular early 2000s retailer than ever before.

We have known for quite some time that Abercrombie & Fitch has anything but a spotless past. There have been issues of racial discrimination, a history of sizeism, and more. However, Netflix's new documentary White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch is unearthing more drama about the company than we ever knew was buried. While the court cases surrounding racial discrimination made the news, this documentary shows the world how tightly woven into the company's infrastructure the racism was.

As outlined in an article on People, the documentary points out that a major aspect of the company's branding was the aesthetic appearance of their workers. They had a handbook which outlined what being, "good looking," was, and that was enough of a basis from which to be fired. Several of the rules, however, deemed several features that are typically non-white as inappropriate. The handbook outlined:

"Our people in the store are an inspiration to the customer...A neatly combed, attractive, natural, classic hairstyle is acceptable. Dreadlocks are unacceptable for men and women. Gold chains are not acceptable for men...Natural, American, Classic: The A&F look."

The blatantly racist policies are the foundation of the entire company. They also created racist products, including shirts that pointedly mocked Asian people. The evil tenacity of the company runs deep. We are so glad that this documentary is bringing it all out into the open.

Tags: White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch