LOVELY

everlane:

Last November you purchased with us on a very special day: Black Friday.

If you recall—as part of a new initiative called the Black Friday Fund—we put all profits from the day into a fund designated for improving the lives of employees at our factories. We focused the first effort on our silk factory in Hangzhou, China. Our initial plan was to build a new recreation area. But before finalizing it, we visited the factory again and—instead of talking to the owners—we sat down with the people who work and live there to ask them what would most impact their quality of life.

Almost all of the workers live within walking distance of the factory in campus dorms. They’re quite happy with the food and conditions, but after several conversations, we discovered that consistent hot water was sometimes an issue—a problem many of us face in our own homes.

In the end, to address this, we decided to build solar panels that power a water heater that heats over 4,000 gallons of water a day, ensuring that everyone has hot water in their dorms when they need it. (No more worrying about how many people have showered that day.)

This project improved the life of just about every worker at the factory. It was completed on July 27, 2015 and represented $54,523 of the nearly $100,000 raised. The remainder will be used for ongoing maintenance and future Black Friday Fund initiatives.

In building Everlane, we’ve learned that most brands don’t visit their factory partners to ensure strong working conditions. And none are willing to invest to make positive change. For us, ethical manufacturing has become a core tenet of what we do. It’s just the right thing—both for the business long term and for sleeping well at night.

Thanks for being part of our first campaign of this kind. It’s our chance to support factory workers around the world and improve their lives. Look out for our next one this Black Friday. We’re really excited about it.

(via everlane)