Former Everlane Employees Call for Boycott Over Racist Work Culture

Former Everlane employees are calling for a boycott of the retailer, saying that the company’s leadership isn’t doing enough to correct the racism they experienced while working there.

The former employees, who refer to themselves as the Ex-Wives Club, called for the boycott in response to an apology issued Sunday by Everlane CEO Michael Preysman, who wrote that the company was taking a series of steps to ensure equal payment and anti-racism training, among other measures.

But the Ex-Wives Club said that Preysman’s response doesn’t go far enough.

“A white man finally saying that a racist and white supremacist workplace culture starts with him is nothing to congratulate,” the group wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. “Nor is it a radical statement.”

Last week, the Ex-Wives Club compiled their experiences and a list of demands in a Google Doc. Per Buzzfeed:

From being paid less than their white counterparts to having their ideas dismissed — or even stolen — and being berated for calling out the brand’s lack of diversity, the former employees said the San Francisco–based company is rife with racist behaviors.

“Everlane broke us,” the document read. “Our spirit, our bodies, and our ideas were considered for their cache and cultural value. Our psyche was manipulated to fall in line with a greenwashed version of sustainability as we ourselves worked unsustainably just to be seen and acknowledged for our contributions while watching our white counterparts advance.”

Among a detailed list of steps, the group asked that the company issue public apologies acknowledging how the brand “has benefited from systemic racism,” hire Black executives, implement anti-racism training, and outline steps to retain BIPOC employees and create spaces for them to voice their concerns.

On Tuesday, the group posted a cursory list of brands, retailers and companies that are “great alternatives for all your (actual) sustainable and ethical needs,” saying a full list would be posted soon.