SEPHORA, Gap Inc., CarMax, Ben & Jerry’s amongst industry leaders taking first-of-its-kind national pledge to implement strategies aimed at addressing racially-biased and unfair treatment in retail

May 18, 2022: National nonprofit Open to All today announced that 28 leading U.S. retailer brands signed the Mitigate Racial Bias in Retail Charter committing to take concrete steps to ensure a more welcoming environment for all by reducing racially biased experiences and unfair treatment for shoppers in the retail sector.

The Mitigate Racial Bias in Retail Charter was inspired by the Racial Bias in Retail Study, a groundbreaking national study commissioned by Sephora that explored the ways in which BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) shoppers experience discrimination in retail settings. The report found that two in five U.S. retailer shoppers have personally experienced unfair treatment on the basis of their race or skin tone, and that BIPOC retail shoppers were three times more likely than white shoppers to feel most often judged by their appearance.

Initiated by Open to All and Sephora in 2022, the Mitigate Racial Bias in Retail Charter is a multi-stakeholder collaboration aiming to implement tactics and actions to reduce racially biased interactions from the shopper experience and create an environment that is truly welcoming to all. Open to All and Sephora partnered on this work, with Open to All convening its Inclusive Retail members to apply the study’s findings with the goal of collaboration and collective impact across the retail sector. Starting with the Charter, this growing collaboration also includes the development of resources and education, including training materials and an annual in-person convening.

“The study underscored the pervasiveness of unfair treatment of BIPOC shoppers in retail spaces throughout this country,” said Calla Rongerude, director of Open to All. “We believe the retail industry should have a zero-tolerance discrimination policy. With the commitments from these companies, we can begin to address the problem, act, and start to make shopping more inclusive. Our goal is to create an environment that is truly open to all. We hope companies across the retail sector will join us, sign the Charter, and work together to create meaningful impact and share best practices.”

“At Sephora, diversity, equity, and inclusion have long been core to our mission since our U.S. debut more than 20 years ago – but we recognized that the retail experience has not always been welcoming,” said Jean-André Rougeot, President and CEO, Sephora Americas. “When we first commissioned the Racial Bias in Retail Study in 2019, it was our intent that the findings would serve as useful insights for the entire retail sector, including Sephora. Today, we are proud to have this work resonate in such a deeply impactful way via the Charter, and with the commitment of so many retail signatories, we can collectively work to change the retail experience on a much faster and broader scale.  We celebrate those that have joined and encourage others to sign on, as it’s not about perfection, it’s about a commitment to progress for shoppers today and tomorrow.”

By signing the Charter, the retailers acknowledge that racially biased and unfair treatment exists broadly in our society and as such, can impact the retail experience. They have all pledged to design and implement actions that mitigate racial bias from the shopper experience, help foster inclusive shopping experiences for all, and work together to share best practices across the retail industry to drive change.

The ways retailers can support the Charter include:

• Increasing diversity across marketing, products, branding, and the workforce to help prevent exclusionary treatment before shoppers enter a store.
• Providing critical employee training on the experience of shoppers of color to help address the disconnect between how BIPOC shoppers and store employees interpret interactions.
• Creating a feedback mechanism to improve service, and report back on any meaningful actions and progress toward fostering more inclusive experiences for BIPOC shoppers.

This Charter was informed by key findings from Sephora’s Racial Bias in Retail Study, which shed light on what racial bias looks, sounds, and feels like in retail settings—and most importantly, what to do to prevent it from happening in the future.  To support the overall effort, a member of the OTA partner group has funded a two-hour anti-racism training to be shared with all Charter members. The training was developed by Mattingly Solutions, a DEI consulting firm focused on workplace inclusion.

“H&M USA is proud to be a signatory of this very important charter,” says Katja Ahola, US Country Sales Manager of H&M.  “We know as an industry there is still so much work to be done, but this very important step, and the collective work of the signatories, will bring us closer to the goal of a more welcoming, safe and inclusive retail experience for all our customers.”

The U.S. retailers that have joined the Charter to date are American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (American Eagle, Aerie), Ascena Retail Group (Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, LOFT, Lou & Grey), Ben & Jerry’s, Capri Holdings (Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Versace), CarMax, Crocs, DICK’S, GAP, Inc., H&M, J. Crew Group, Levi Strauss & Co., Michaels, Movado Group, Tapestry (Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman), rue 21, SEPHORA and Zara.

Non-retail companies, institutions, NGO’s and nonprofits can also support the Charter by becoming a supporter of the Charter and taking the Open to All pledge.  Those groups are asked to support the work of the retailers and resources through sharing the Charter and socializing best practices. 

Seramount, part of EAB, has become an official supporter and will host an informational webinar for interested organizations on June 1, 2022, at 1 p.m. EDT. Register here.

More information on the Racial Bias in Retail Study, commissioned by Sephora, may be found here.

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Open to All is a nonprofit nondiscrimination program that believes everyone should be welcome regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion, or disability. www.opentoall.com

For media inquiries, please contact sephorapr@devriesglobal.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Calla Devlin Rongerude, Open to All | calla@opentoall.com | 415.250.2420

OPEN TO ALL’S 2021 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE HARNESSES CONSUMER PURCHASE POWER IN SUPPORT OF FRONTLINE WORKERS AND INCLUSIVE BUSINESSES 

BOULDER, CO, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 — Today, Open to All released its annual Open to All Holiday Gift Guide to encourage consumers to use their purchase power this holiday season to support inclusive businesses and frontline workers. Open to All is the nation’s largest nondiscrimination campaign galvanizing leaders in business, civic engagement, and the nonprofit sector in support of shared American values of fairness and equality. The Holiday Gift Guide features products from small businesses and some of the most iconic brands at every price point from an array of inclusive retailers, celebrating the core principle that any business that is open to the public should make every person feel safe and welcome—regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion or disability. 

“In the long haul that is the Covid pandemic, we saw businesses large and small shutter stores and scale back services to keep us all safe. In a time of crisis and lost profits, businesses could have cut back on their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Instead, Open to All businesses of all sizes demonstrated their commitments in myriad ways,” said Calla Devlin Rongerude, Director of Open to All. “With our Holiday Gift Guide, we want to encourage people to give the gift of inclusion. At a time of deep divisions, Open to All’s coalition of 200+ nonprofits and 500,000+ businesses are joining together to build a thriving and inclusive nation where all are welcome. When we value our employees and care for our customers and each other, we all thrive.”

Throughout 2021, Open to All collaborated with nonprofit and corporate partners to address the vulnerability of frontline workers. As tensions run high and retailers are asked to enforce safety measures, including mask mandates, amid the global pandemic, frontline workers often can face the brunt of customer frustration, which can often manifest in racist or discriminatory ways. While retailers have long trained frontline workers to respect and serve a diverse customer base, now customers are being asked to join as part of the solution.

Earlier this year, Open to All launched Inclusive Retail, a groundbreaking initiative that puts tools and resources in the hands of businesses and customers alike to ensure the inclusion, safety, and acceptance of those on the frontlines of retail: floor staff and sales associates. Inclusive Retail offers new resources to foster inclusivity and create safe shopping experiences for everyone in retail environments.

The Customer Action Center features resources and tools that empower customers to practice effective allyship if they see an employee receiving unjust treatment from another customer, including:

• allyship resources created by Hollaback!, which designs and distributes trainings and campaigns on discrimination and harassment;
• in-depth videos about allyship and implicit bias; and
• a new Customer Pledge where consumers can affirm the values of being Open to All.

For the first time, customers can collectively signal their commitment to being Open to All. Similar to Open to All’s Business Pledge, the Customer Pledge allows customers to declare that they believe everyone — including employees, visitors, vendors, clients and other customers — should feel safe, respected, and accepted regardless of who they are.

Inclusive Retail provides businesses and customers with the tools necessary to create a welcoming environment for all while shedding light on the increased challenges retail workers face. Open to All encourages consumers to visit the Customer Action Center and sign the pledge as they do their holiday shopping. 

The Open to All Holiday Gift Guide features a wide array of inclusive businesses, from small businesses across the country to corporate partners—all that invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

View the Open to All Holiday Gift Guide here.

Businesses that wish to join Open to All can learn more and sign the pledge at http://www.opentoall.com/business-members/#business-pledge.

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About Open to All 

Open to All is one of the most significant public education efforts to date that unites and galvanizes national leaders in business, civic engagement, and the nonprofit sector to take a stand for shared American values of fairness and equality. In addition to the thousands of business members, Open to All includes more than 200 nonprofit members spanning civil rights and racial justice organizations; LGBT equality organizations; health and disability organizations; faith organizations; and more. Open to All members are committed to building awareness and understanding about the importance of nondiscrimination—and to defend the bedrock principle that when businesses open their doors to the public, they should be Open to All.