The Petition Making Everlane Accountable to its 'Radical Transparency' Brand Philosophy

A petition to make American cult fashion brand Everlane accountable to its promise of “Radical Transparency” has been launched by Remake.world, a non-profit organisation advocating for a more ethical fashion industry and asking consumers to break up with fast fashion.

“It’s time Everlane stopped greenwashing and misleading consumers about its supply chain ethics,” the Change.org petition urges.

It continues:

“Everlane states that its clothing comes from “ethical factories.” However, the brand’s website lacks information on fair wages, working hours, and maker well-being programs for a majority of its listed factories.”

The petition on Change.org.

Everlane was founded in San Francisco as an online direct-to-consumer brand by Michael Preysman and Jesse Farmer back in 2010. The entrepreneurs saw a market for selling men and women’s designer-quality basics at low, ‘transparent’ pricing . In order to achieve this, the duo decided to cut out traditional middlemen to avoid the usual retail markups and margins.

In addition to affordable pricing, Everlane’s contemporary designs, minimalistic styling and crisp photography were embraced by a legion of young customers who were drawn to its classic styles and modern branding.

After raising roughly $1.2 million in seed funding from 15 investors including Brian Sugar, SV Angel and Kleiner Perkins, Preysman and Farmer were able to scale the brand, expanding its lines to include footwear and jeans to its key collections.

Ten years on and Everlane has found cult status with socially-conscious millennials. Its fashion has been worn by the likes of Meghan Markle and Gigi Hadid, favourite celebrities of those in Gen Z and Gen Y.

The brand also boasts six brick-and-mortar stores in trendy suburbs across New York and California: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Boston, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The business may be reaching maturity, but Everlane’s ethical and sustainability practices still leaves a lot to be desired.

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There is no doubt Everlane has found a winning formula with its target market. But while the brand lists factory locations and provides details around its pricing (breaking down costs of inputs including materials, hardware, labor, duties and transport) it’s what Everlane omits from its website that has people questioning:

Are workers being paid a living wage? How many hours do they work? What are the conditions around their labour? How does the brand ensure that no child labourers are employed in its supply chain? When will it exclusively use eco-friendly materials? Will it submit to third-party audits to verify its claims?

The Change.org petition is calling on Everlane to share worker conditions and stop greenwashing. If you want them to come clean about this too, sign the petition here.

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Feature image via Everlane.