Macy’s Inc. Issues Progress Report on Corporate Citizenship
From using recycled cardboard for fulfilling orders to showcasing diverse brands, Macy’s Inc. is reporting progress on its multiyear social purpose platform called “Mission Every One.”
The platform, launched in 2022 as reported by WWD, calls for Macy’s to invest $5 billion through 2025 on vendor and service partners, products, people and programs that foster equality, inclusiveness and sustainability.
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On Monday, Macy’s cited several accomplishments last year, among them:
Approximately $1.4 billion of the $5 billion was spent to support diverse-owned businesses.
Through leadership skills programs and a focus on hiring, retention and promotions, 29 percent of those filling jobs at the director level and above are ethnically diverse, putting Macy’s well on track to achieve its 30 percent target by 2025.
More than 3,000 employees finished at least one course as part of Macy’s partnership with Guild Education launched in February 2022. The partnership covers costs associated with tuition, books, courses and fees to complete high school, college preparation courses, English language courses, association and bachelor degrees, boot camps and professional certifications.
Nearly 70 percent of bids through the company’s procurement team included underrepresented groups; half were onboarded.
The Workshop at Macy’s retail development program for underrepresented suppliers awarded $250,000 in grants, and 10 Workshop alumni were onboarded. The program has helped more than 195 diverse and women-owned businesses since 2011.
By the end of 2022, diverse sellers and brands represented 30 percent of the enterprises on Macy’s online marketplace, which was launched last fall.
Macy’s deployed $1 million in corporate grant funding and dedicated support to social justice causes and organizations including the Human Rights Campaign, the National Urban League and CEO Action for Racial Equity.
Macy’s also reported that by the end of 2023, the company expects more than half of its cotton products within private brands will be sustainably sourced. In 2022, sustainable products on Macys.com increased four times. They can be easily searched through sitelets.
In addition, Macy’s indicated that the majority of its product samples are digital, helping to reduce textile waste, and that all fulfillment cardboard contains recycled content and meets the Sustainable Forestry Initiative sourcing standard.
“Our social purpose platform, Mission Every One, builds on our heritage of corporate citizenship, fueling a more equitable and sustainable future for our people, communities and planet,” Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s Inc., said in a statement Monday.
“Over the past year, our business has infused this work enterprise-wide, transforming how we operate and make decisions. Through our $1.4 billion of spend in 2022, we see the effect both our corporate and individual contributions can have. Mission Every One has galvanized our brands and our people and led to the creation of programs like S.P.U.R. Pathways, aimed at shattering systemic barriers for under-represented businesses, and contributed more than $34 million to our community partners.” Gennette said Macy’s remains committed to “driving positive societal change.”
Among the diverse-owned brands that Macy’s showcased last year were Buttah, Harlem Candle Co., Healthy Roots, Nude Barre, Oma The Label, Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross, Soap Distillery and SPGBK. Also showcased through the retailer’s “Icons of Style” capsule collections series were Akwaaba Inns x Hotel Collection, Girl Meets Farm by Molly Yeh, and Shash Diné x Hotel Collection.
Macy’s also reported that last year its customers and colleagues together raised more than $25 million for organizations supporting education, mentoring, mental health and environmental stewardship, and that partnerships were formed with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, The Jed Foundation, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Trust for Public Land, APIA Scholars and Hispanic Federation. Macy’s continued to support UNCF, Girl’s Inc, The Trevor Project and Reading is Fundamental.
In 2022, Macy’s launched the Divine Nine Sorority Dress Collection in partnership with The Kasper Group aimed to help members of historically Black sororities find styles in their signature colors for conferences, community service events and ceremonies.
In other Mission Every One initiatives, partnerships were formed with City College of San Francisco, Clark Atlanta University, the Fashion Scholarship Fund, Rise: Reimagining Industry to Support Equality, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund.
Also, the Bloomingdale’s x FIT Sustainable Innovation Fund was started. It provides funding for Fashion Institute of Technology student projects around sustainability.
Bluemercury partnered with Girls Inc., the Compass LGBTQ Community Center in Florida and N Street Village in Washington D.C., which all support underserved and underrepresented communities.
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