Old Navy

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Old Navy Logo

Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by American multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its flagship stores, located in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Manila, and Mexico City.[1]

Racist incident

Old Navy has drawn criticism for two racial incidents in 2019, one in Philadelphia where two Old Navy employees said a store brought in white workers from other locations for a taping of Queer Eye and in Canada where an Ontario store was accused of racially profiling a shopper.

Racial profiling in Toronto

James Conley III (left) documented the incident in a series of photos and videos.

In February 2018, James Conley III posted a series of photos and videos on Facebook detailing an encounter he had at an Old Navy store at the Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, Iowa. In the post, Conley said that he walked into the store wearing a "blue bubble jacket" he had received for Christmas. After picking out a few hoodies, Conley said he was at the checkout counter paying for his items when an Old Navy employee asked him if he wanted to purchase the jacket he was wearing, too.

According to Conley, the Old Navy employees accused him of not paying for the jacket and "racially profiled [him] because of the color of [his] skin." It wasn't until Conley asked the district manager to come out and check the store's surveillance tape, which showed him walking into the store wearing the blue Old Navy jacket, that the employees backed down.

Old Navy later apologized to Conley in a statement on Facebook. "Earlier this week an Old Navy customer, James Conley III, had an unacceptable experience in our Jordan Creek, Iowa store," the company wrote. "The situation was a violation of our policies and values, and we apologize to both Mr. Conley and to those we've disappointed. All of our customers deserve to be treated with respect." [2]

Old Navy has fired three employees after a viral video showed an alleged incident of racial profiling in one of the company's stores.

Queer Eye filming in Philadelphia

Employees of color at an Old Navy store in Philadelphia allege that they were replaced with an all-white crew and asked to stay away from filming of the most recent season of Netflix's "Queer Eye". Tallege they were asked to stay away from filming, claiming they were relegated to the sidelines while a group of all-white employees brought in from the suburbs took their place.

The employees said that in total, 10 white store workers were brought to the Center City location. The allegations first surfaced when Monae Alvarado, a Cambodian store employee, posted about the incident on Facebook.

However, the spokesperson maintained that the decision about which store workers were brought in was not based on race, adding that in advance of filming the company selected a store leader, a black woman who manages the store, to appear on camera. Old Navy also denied the claims in a statement to Business Insider, writing, "We would never select employees to participate — or not — based on race. That is completely inaccurate and against the values we stand for as a company." [3]

Fight against systemic racism

As mentioned on their website, Old Navy mentioned that they believe in the democracy of style, and a world of equality & opportunity, for everyone. Because Black lives matter, and this is what they stand for. They also see any opportunities that could help them fight against systemic racism.[4]

For Employees

Old Navy are committed to doubling the representation of Black and Latinx employees at all levels in our US HQ offices by 2025. And knowing that Black store leaders are underrepresented, they will increase Black representation in those roles by 50% by 2025. They committed to changing their culture so that it lives up to Old Navy values of inclusion, equality, & belonging. They will continue to provide resources, such as unconscious bias training, companywide.[4]

For Brand

Old Navy will ensure that at least 50% of the talent they work with to represent the brand in marketing, including models and influencers, are people of color by 2021, from over 40% in 2020.[4]

For Communities

Old Navy have committed over $2 million annually to nonprofit partners, including their longtime partner Boys & Girls Clubs, to provide jobs and career mentoring to underserved youth from diverse backgrounds through This Way Ahead Program. Their goal is to fill 20,000 jobs from the initiative by 2025.

They joined the Open to All Leadership Circle in 2018. This pledge is a public stand against discrimination of all kinds, and reaffirms that their workplaces and stores are welcoming spaces for everyone, and it is on every door of every single Old Navy store as well as headquarters.[4]

"We are We" campaign

Old Navy "We are we" campaign

Old Navy is celebrating its commitment to equality and inclusivity in a 30 second commercial called “We are We. The campaign features five activists Marley Dias a 15 year old author of #100BlackGirlBooks and Ja’Mal Green a civil rights activist in Chicago.

The ad debuted on all of their social media channels, and on TV. In it, Dias narrates a poem calling out the current state of the country, and ending the poem with optimism. She’s optimistic that the work of unification and equality that’s dependent on everybody to forge better outcomes and possibilities for all will be done.[5]

"We are We" is narrated by Marley Dias, a 15-year-old feminist, author, racial equality activist, and founder of #100BlackGirlBooks. It also includes Ja’Mal Green, a father and civil rights advocate from Chicago; Sara Mora, a national immigrant rights activist, the co-founder of Women’s March Youth Empower and founder of Who is Our 2020, a social platform that promotes youth political engagement; from Hilside, NJ; Dawn Bozeman, a community activist for racial equality, specializing in education, and first Black school board member and president in Dunlap, IL; Sharene Wood, born and raised in Harlem and involved in the local community as a Black Women for Black Girls board member and a Boys & Girls Club of Harlem advisory board member.[6]

An Old Navy spokesperson said “We are We” is part of the brand’s ongoing “pledge for equality” and that “we know we have room to grow. We want everyone in our stores to feel welcome and respected.” [7]

References

  1. Old Navy. Wikipedia. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  2. Yang, Lucy. Old Navy fired 3 employees after a customer said he was accused of stealing a jacket he wore into the store. Feb 2, 2018. insider.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  3. Biron, Bethany. Old Navy employees of color allege they were replaced with an all-white crew during filming of 'Queer Eye'. Aug 29, 2019. businessinsider.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 We are change. Old Navy. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  5. Uvieghara, Nicole. 12 Examples of Brands Supporting #BlackLivesMatter. July 17, 2020. taboola.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  6. Stein, Lindsay. Old Navy's spot features five activists in push around commitment to equality. July 15, 2020. campaignlive.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  7. Harden, Brandon T. Philly-born activist Marley Dias is amplifying the voices of teenagers in an Old Navy ad campaign. July 30, 2020. inquirer.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.