Flora Krauch: defending the children's wear industry from commercialization through social reform methods, 1909-1940

Abstract

This thesis examines Flora Krauch’s use of Progressive Era social reform methods to develop and expand infants’ and children’s merchandise departments in American department stores and specialty shops. Krauch used the pages of the industry’s first trade journal, The Infants’ Department, to wage her battle against the commercialization of these departments, and to urge the use of mother education and child welfare as their foundation. At the turn of the twentieth century, retailers began to demonstrate their civic leadership in socially responsible ways. By 1916 independently owned department stores faced new forms of competition which led them to build alliances with individuals who highlighted the significance of scientific management methods and commercialization. The Retail Research Association and Harvard Business School spearheaded these merchandising shifts. The effects of these trends are apparent in children’s departments. To explore how Krauch rejected commercialization, this thesis analyzes all available newspaper and journal articles Krauch wrote from 1909 to 1940, as well as primary sources from the U.S. Children’s Bureau and Harvard Business School. Krauch was a leading force in the effort to challenge commercializing forces through the professionalization of women in retail buying and sales, and through the education of mothers about the health and safety of infants’ and children’s merchandise.