Clothing Stores Reduce Plus-Size Inventory Amid Weight Loss Drug Trends
Clothing retailers are scaling back on plus-size selections, a change influenced by the rise of Ozempic and similar GLP-1 medications. This shift hasn’t sat well with some women who identify as plus-size.
“It’s clear where this thin culture is taking us,” shares Anne Lindsay, a 41-year-old plus-size woman, expressing her views to CNN. “It seems brands are aligning with a certain image of what they believe consumers want.”
Lindsay further notes that many plus-size clothing options tend to be either overly sophisticated or prohibitively expensive.
Kimmy Garris, a fashion influencer in the plus-size community, articulates her concern: “[GLP-1] serves as a rationalization for stores to continue to exclude larger individuals from their offerings, limiting choices and mass-producing clothing in more popular sizes.”
There’s a sense that affluence breeds a peculiar entitlement. Women who have the financial means to demand distinct retail categories seem free to vocalize their dissatisfaction with the available options.
CNN, referencing data from retail analytics firm EDITED, reports that extended sizes for women’s apparel on Target’s site saw a 37% drop from March 2025 to March 2026, and a 30% decrease in just the last six months. Extended sizes usually begin around women’s sizes 14 or 16. Similarly, Old Navy’s extended sizes have fallen by 12% this year compared to the previous year.
Torrid, a major retailer focusing on plus-size clothing, has announced plans to close approximately 180 of its 630 stores by June 2025, according to eMarketer, and notes that 70% of its clientele prefers online shopping.
The body positivity movement gained traction in the late 2010s, paralleling other social movements. However, it seems the public is growing weary of overt expressions of activism, which many believe may have contributed to the decline of body positivity. Ironically, Ozempic’s rise reveals an underlying sentiment: many people, regardless of size, generally don’t embrace being overweight. This reality seems to have taken the pharmaceutical industry some time to acknowledge.
