New Investments in Nest Ethical Handcraft
Purchases and Doubling of Fair Trade Premiums Will Be Added to
Commitment of Annual Product Purchases
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) the world’s largest
digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer, announced
new investments in purchases of Nest Ethical Handcraft product and
a commitment to double investments in Fair Trade USA® programs by
2025. As the first retailer to set such an ambitious goal,
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. continues to lead the home furnishings
industry on sustainability goals and reporting on progress by
partnering with independent third-party partners like Nest and Fair
Trade USA. These key partnerships will help facilitate the
company’s pledge of having 75% of all products meet one or more of
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s social and environmental initiatives by
2030 – a commitment that represents $1B in product purchases
annually.
“We invest in programs that positively impact the people that
make our products and the communities where we source our products
from,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. ‘Our work with partners like Nest and Fair
Trade help support a resilient, sustainable supply chain that
delivers concrete business value.”
Since 2014, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has partnered with Fair Trade
USA and Nest to bring best-in-class standards to WSI’s supply
chain, ensuring the highest degree of ethical production both
inside and outside of WSI factories. WSI became the first home
retailer to offer Fair Trade Certified™ products with the launch of
one rug factory in India and today, WSI works with 17 Fair Trade
Certified factories in five countries, impacting nearly 16,000
workers.
With the addition of a new commitment to double Fair Trade
Premiums by 2025, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will have paid nearly $20M
in Fair Trade Premiums since the partnership began in 2014 allowing
WSI to positively impact the workers and the communities in which
the company does business. For every Fair Trade Certified product
sold, WSI pays a Premium that goes directly back to workers who
collectively decide how to spend the funds to improve the lives of
themselves and their communities. Workers have invested premium
funds in solar panels in homes to create light for their children
to study by, provided bulk purchase food staples and PPE to support
workers during COVID-19, built a clinic to provide health services
to the broader community, and more.
“This type of commitment at scale is exactly the kind of
leadership we need right now – for workers, for the environment,
and for conscious consumers who demand responsibility from brands
today,” said Paul Rice, Founder & CEO of Fair Trade USA. “We
are pleased to see WSI take its commitment to responsible sourcing
to the next level and excited at the added impact it will create
for producers.”
WSI’s partnership with Nest also began in 2014 by partnering on
the development of the Seal of Ethical Handcraft to ensure ethical
production in handcraft supply chains. Four years later, WSI became
the first ever retailer to offer product with the Nest Seal and
today WSI offers over 400 ethically handcrafted products across our
family of brands. These products are made in partnership with eight
suppliers who have earned the Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft in
four countries, impacting the lives of over 3,600 global
artisans.
“Since we began our partnership in 2014, WSI has demonstrated a
deep commitment to protecting workers throughout their supply
chains – including the homeworkers and handworkers who create
handcrafted product at scale,” shared Rebecca van Bergen, Nest’s
Founder & Executive Director. “By playing a pivotal role in the
launch of the Ethical Handcraft program, WSI has both impacted the
lives of thousands of handworkers in their own supply chains, as
well as over 45,000 handworkers that we’ve reached through the
program to date.”
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s new commitments to Nest and Fair Trade
USA reflect the company’s goal to build an innovative model of
responsible business that celebrates conscious consumerism and a
shared value to eliminate poverty and enable sustainable
development for workers, farmers, their families and their
communities around the world.
For more information on Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s ESG efforts,
please visit: https://sustainability.williams-sonomainc.com/
ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the world’s largest digital-first,
design-led and sustainable home retailer. The company’s products,
representing distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma,
Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm,
Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are
marketed through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs and
retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our
free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits
across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the
U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer
international shipping to customers worldwide, and have
unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East,
the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India, as well as
e-commerce websites in certain locations. We are also proud to lead
the industry with our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)
efforts. Our company is Good By Design — we’ve deeply engrained
sustainability into our business. From our factories to your home,
we’re united in a shared purpose to care for our people and our
planet.
ABOUT FAIR TRADE USA
Fair Trade USA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
and the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America.
Its trusted Fair Trade Certified seal on a product signifies that
it was made according to rigorous fair trade standards that promote
sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions, protection of
the environment, and strong, transparent supply chains. Rather than
creating dependency on aid, Fair Trade USA’s model empowers
farmers, workers, and fishermen to fight poverty and earn
additional money to improve its communities. Winner of Fast
Company’s Social Enterprise of the Year Award and recognized as a
leading social venture by the Clinton Global Initiative, the Skoll
Foundation, and Ashoka, Fair Trade USA also helps brands and
retailers tell their stories of impact and educate consumers about
the power of their purchase. The Fair Trade Certified seal
represents thousands of products, improving millions of lives,
protecting land and waterways in 62 countries and counting.
Purchases have sent $846 million to farmers and workers since
1999.
ABOUT NEST
Nest is a non-profit 501(c)(3) supporting the responsible growth
and creative engagement of the artisan & maker economy to build
a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion. Through
programs that support the wellbeing of artisans both in the United
States and globally, Nest brings radical transparency and
opportunity to the informal handworker economy.
Nest’s Standards for Homes and Small Workshops are the first
widely-adopted metrics for determining accountability and
transparency in informal supply chains. To recognize business’
commitment to ethical handcraft production and meeting the Nest
Standards, Nest launched the Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft which
can be found on over 2,000 consumer products, including 400
products at Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
WSM-PR
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Kendall Coleman Williams-Sonoma, Inc. kacoleman@wsgc.com
415-616-7926
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