Case study: Everlane PDF

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Transparency and ethics at Everlane case study...

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Case study: Transparency and ethics at Everlane

1. What key elements drive consumers to purchase from Everlane? The key elements that appeal to Everlane consumers involve product and price transparency, sustainability, ethics and classic timeless designs. Everlane Inc. (Everlane) pride themselves on “radical transparency,” involving operation under principles of sustainability and ethics. This involves products that aren’t tailored to trends, instead aiming to create timeless products to ensure long-lasting use. Further, they do not over-manufacture and instead aim to abide by a waitlist when product demand exceeds expectations. They also announced the removal of virgin plastics in 2018, launching the ‘ReNew’ collection in 2021 that composed of recycled garments including puffer jackets, parkas and sweatshirts. This proves to be especially important to modern consumers in an increasingly planet conscious world. Everlane also maintains positive factory partnerships, conducting audits to evaluate working conditions, as well as launching sale initiatives to accommodate to supplier needs. These

sales initiatives included providing helmets to 8, 000 Vietnamese workers, as well as providing 4,000 meals to factory workers in Bien Hoa. Transparent pricing is further a strong appeal to consumers, whereby costs are broken down for consumers to view the extent of mark-up costs. Through Everlane adopting a transparent and ethical business model, consumers can purchase goods knowing they are supporting a business that is conscious of their ecological footprint, their workers and consumer values.

2. Is the Everlane approach aligned with the company’s stated values of ethics, sustainability, and transparency? The Everlane approach is highly aligned with stated company values, however, failure in formal auditing processes resulted in dishonest company practices. Everlane has strong primary values of transparency, sustainable, and ethical practices. These are engrained throughout their product, pricing and distribution chains, favouring timeless products, transparent low-mark up prices and supportive distribution relationships with factory working conditions. Further, sustainable practices including recycled products, donationfocused campaigns and under-manufacturing generate a business model that is conscious of their ecological footprint, hence, aligning with company stated values. However, the company faced controversial accusations and reports regarding workplace inequality in 2020. The accusations emerged following the layoff of 200 employees as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although a two-week severance pay was offered, the layoff included 42 of 57 members of the customer experience team that had intended to unionise. Former employees stepped forward with accusations of the company being anti-black and antiunion, with internal investigations confirming the accusations. This was largely as a result of a lack of formal processes in place for employees to file complaints of harassment or discrimination. These practices resulted in a poor image generated towards Everlane, with bad publicity highlighting the controversial nature of their values against poor workplace accusations. 3. How should Everlane move forward from the crisis?

In order for Everlane to overcome this crisis, they must manage the company’s organisational culture. It is integral that Everlane creates a strong organisational culture, in

order to unify employees and ensure employees are working together with positivity and a strong purpose. Everlane has stated that to ensure this is managed in the future, a board seat would be open for a black member, as well as a black person being employed in senior leadership. Further, the company would undertake anti-racism training and team up with racism organisations. Although this is a positive step towards moving forward as an inclusive and equal company, Everlane will have to be more extensive to ensure publicity is managed, and employee’s feel valued and heard in the workplace.

To move forward from the crisis, discrimination and harassment in the workplace must be managed effectively. This is especially important regarding the unionisation of former employees, as unionisation generally occurs as a result of un-equitable treatment that isn’t addressed by senior managers. This could be effectively combatted by employing an effective human resources team that conducts regular monitoring of workplace behaviour to ensure employee’s feel heard. Regular checks could be conducted and encouraged in the form of group meetings and anonymous survey’s to ensure employee’s feel comfortable expressing concerns. Further, more integrated training could be conducted that abides by values of equality, to ensure that all races are valued and equal within the workplace, as opposed to different races being isolated.

Further, public relations must be managed to ensure the community is on board with Everlane’s improved code of ethics. Modern society is increasingly in favour of equality within race, size, religion, gender and more. Hence, Everlane must adapt to these concerns through embracing equality in the workplace. Although Preysman’s statement (exhibit 1) is an effective first step, publicity in the form of interviews and media articles would strengthen the communities grasp of the perceived message. Through being transparent and honest about the workplace issues, how they came about and how Everlane is combatting them, the community will perceive the message in a more understanding manner than if facts are hidden. Further, concerns emerged regarding sizing, with customers calling for sizing beyond XL to accommodate for different body types. This would be an important consideration to ensure Everlane is embracing equality, in turn generating positive public relations to strengthen community understanding of Everlane’s new code of ethics favouring equality.

4. How should Everlane grow its business in a post Covid environment? Everlane should focus on its strengths and opportunities when operating within a post covid environment. This involves strengths of ethics and environmental practices in an increasingly ecologically focused society, as well as opportunities of flexible work environments and digital transformation. Although COVID-19 has generated financial hardship within businesses, the post-covid-19 business environment is full of new opportunities and prospects. Through Everlane utilising their strengths and opportunities, they will be able to effectively grow and manage their business in a post-covid environment.

Everlane’s values of ethics and sustainability hold a strong importance in a post-covid environment. As we are operating within an increasingly environmentally conscious world, society favours and will choose planet conscious brands over others. Further, consumers highly favour transparency and trust within brand loyalty relationships. Hence, ethics and sustainability are a great strength of Everlane. This could be utilised through adopting a stronger marketing campaign to ensure engagement is high and consumers are aware of business values. This could involve placing products on their social media campaigns to drive up sales, as opposed to focusing on customer relationships within posts. This would ensure customers have higher access to products as opposed to learning of products without a desire to purchase them. Through adopting this approach, Everlane will avoid appearing to be ‘greenwashing’ and instead informing consumers, whilst still offering products in an accessible manner.

Everlane should further utilise a change in work environments. COVID-19 has created a drive towards remote and flexible work environments. However, people are now more concerned about job security and the possibility of automation in jobs. As Everlane has been hit with severe financial hardships of $15 million in profits, it is integral to manage the financial aspect of Everlane to facilitate for future growth. This could involve outsourcing and employing external employees that favour remote work environments. Through adopting this approach, finances could be cut to ensure more room for growth. More affordable distribution sources could further be utilised through outsourcing labour to more Asian

located factories as opposed to California and Europe. However, this would have to be managed to ensure it aligns with Everlane’s values of ethical payment and working conditions. Through managing costs, Everlane will have more resources to be able to fixate on expansion under unstable economic conditions.

Further, Everlane should embrace the age of digital transformation to expand the business. This could be utilised through expanding into overseas markets and relying on online stores to carry the business in new markets. Further, as remote work is highly favoured in a postCovid environment, employees could be working in overseas locations, though still supporting overseas expansion online. Further, statistics and analytics can be utilised digitally through platforms such as Microsoft Power BI and Oracle analytics cloud to bring costs down in the market research and engagement sector. Social media accounts could further be utilised to a higher degree. Although Everlane is currently active on Instagram and Twitter accounts, broadening the range of their social media engagement would allow for business growth. This could involve focusing on one social media platform at a time to ensure success in tapping into those platforms.

Hence, through Everlane utilising their strengths and opportunities, they will be able to effectively grow within a post-covid-19 environment....