Anthropologie is the latest fashion retailer facing allegations of racial discrimination.
The affluent lifestyle brand, where products cost as much as $795 for dresses or $9,000 for a camping tent, has been called out in its Instagram comments for discriminatory practices.
After publishing a Maya Angelou quote to its Instagram feed on June 1 stressing that people are “equal in value no matter their color,” followers expressed unhappiness for what they deemed a vague response that didn’t specifically address the Black Lives Matter movement.
A post shared by Anthropologie (@anthropologie)Jun 1, 2020 at 6:42am PDT
Multiple commenters also shared stories saying they were racially profiled in Anthropologie stores and alleging that the company uses the code word “Nick” to refer to Black shoppers.
“Anthro’s culture needs to be seriously reformed,” wrote one user, who said the brand’s company culture is a systemic issue. “The ‘Nick’ codeword for Black shoppers that has been corroborated by unrelated former employees? Come on.”
Later that week, the brand responded with a post promising to stand with and support the Black community, including donating $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund and a commitment to diversifying its workforce.
A post shared by Anthropologie (@anthropologie)Jun 5, 2020 at 11:19am PDT
But comments on the brand’s alleged racist practices and “whitewashing” continued, calling out Anthropologie for culturally appropriating products and predominantly hiring white employees.
Influencer Lydia Okello then took to their Instagram on Monday, reporting that they were asked to work for free on a Pride month campaign. Okello stated their fee in their initial response to an Anthropologie employee, was met with the response that there was “no budget” for the campaign. The Anthropologie employee didn’t acknowledge that Okello should receive compensation until several emails later.
On Thursday, Anthropologie officially responded to all the criticism via Instagram comprising several slides of text.
“You may have seen that we have been challenged to be more transparent, unbiased, and fair in our stores and with our business practices,” the statement began. It went on to say that the company doesn’t have a code word and has a zero tolerance policy for racial profiling, but that it was learning how to combat racism. “We are committed to doing better — to be being better.”
A post shared by Anthropologie (@anthropologie)Jun 10, 2020 at 7:29pm PDT
If you’re an Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, or Free People employee or someone with a story to tell, contact this reporter via email at hhoffower@businessinsider.com
