Difference between revisions of "Everlane"

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== Reference ==
  
[[Category:Black Racism in Fashion]]
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Latest revision as of 07:02, 15 March 2021

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Everlane is an American clothing retailer that sells direct-to-consumer primarily online. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.[1] Everlane was founded in 2010 by Michael Preysman and Jesse Farmer with the mission of selling clothing with transparent pricing and opened permanent stores in SoHo in New York City in 2017 and in San Francisco in 2018.[2]

Controversy

In June 2020, a group of ex-Everlane employees released a document entitled Everlane's Convenient Transparency, outlining examples and accusing the brand of “anti-Black behavior” and a toxic work culture. In the seven page doc released by an unnamed group calling themselves “the Ex-Wives Club,” the brand is accused by “former Black, POC and white allied employees” of underpaying over-qualified Black employees, privately berating customers who called for more diversity within the brand and making Black employees uncomfortable with comments and touching their hair without consent. One employee in the doc claims that the brand’s chief creative officer participated in the latter, writing: “On multiple occasions I had Alexandra Spunt, the Chief Creative Officer, approach me from behind and shove her hands in my hair, pulling at my roots, and referring to us being ‘soul sisters.'”[3]

According to emails sent to Fashionista by an Ex-Wives Club representative who wished to remain anonymous, the document was originally crafted by 14 former employees, who worked at Everlane for periods of time ranging from "several months to several years." They bonded via a group chat that began a couple years ago, but the number of people stepping up to "speak truth to power" at other companies prompted the Ex-Wives to put over 30 hours of labor into crafting a document that could be shared directly with their former place of work. A representative for the group says they were "emotionally, mentally, creatively and spiritually traumatized" by their tenure at Everlane and notes that the first call between the group was a teary one, as people shared their experiences. However, they also noted in the document itself that they "know Everlane is capable of caring thoughtfully"[4]

In respond to the document, Everlane's founder and chief executive Michael Preysman said that during all-staff meeting that was held on July, they have completed internal investigation confirmed many of these complaints. Investigators found that insensitive terms were used while discussing Black models; that leaders violated employees’ personal space by touching them, and used inappropriate terms when referring to people of color; that new hires felt isolated and unwelcome; that there was lack of consistent policies around promotions; that there were no formal processes to effectively escalate harassment or discrimination. Everlane also announced that Alexandra Spunt, the company’s chief creative officer who has received significant criticism from staff, will be “no longer leading the creative team” and will be “transitioning" while “advising the senior leadership team as needed.”

In a statement to The Times, Mr. Preysman said that the company had “urgent work to do to rewrite Everlane’s code of ethics.” It would be opening a seat for a Black board member in the next year, adding a Black person to the senior leadership team in the next year, rolling out anti-racism training for the entire company by August, and teaming with two racism accountability organizations.[5]

Reference