User:Commsstudent/Anthropologie

About the Brand
Anthropologie employs a number of smaller retailers to sell their unique products in Anthropologie stores. The partnerships they curate are with smaller brands to create the Anthropologie atmosphere, with the flea market or boutique style set up. The company has a focus on the atmosphere of the brand rather than the quantity or merchandise. The brands they have chosen are small and often have similar styles to curate the atmosphere of the store. There is a list of all brands that are sold in Anthropologie stores on their website. The brands that are partnered with Anthropologie are a wide range of furniture, clothing, beauty and wellness, home decor retailers.

History
In 1970, Richard Hayne and Scott Belair opened a retail store called Free People, then Urban Outfitters (two brands that are owned by the same parent company as Anthropologie). Hayne then came up with the idea of Anthropologie in hopes of giving creative, educated and affluent 30- to 45-year-old women a place to shop that is a bohemian style aesthetic.

Brand Sustainability
Anthropologie prides themselves on the atmosphere and style of their stores, as they are bohemian and unique. Many of the products and clothing that they sell seem handmade, something different from other stores. According to the evaluation done by Good on You, Anthropologie is not a sustainable brand. Good On You evaluates the impact on the workers (in the supply chain, the labour safety, and living wage), the environment (the resource waste and disposal, carbon emissions and water usage), and animals (the testing and use of animal products such as fur, feathers etc.). In their evaluation of Anthropologie in 2020, they found that Anthropologie does not make any efforts to eliminate their textile waste, however, uses some renewable energy sources. They also do not publish any information about their labour practices or list of suppliers. They use feathers and animal hair in their products and do not release the sourcing information about these products, therefore it is unknown if they are ethically sourced. The main issue found is the lack of living wage for their employees. On Good On You’s scale, from 1-5 (1 being not sustainable at all and 5 being great) Anthropologie scored 2/5 meaning they are “Not Good Enough”. The unclear sourcing and lack of information about the production line or the wages of their employees in such production lines is what creates confusion about the brand's ethical practices.

Philanthropy
Anthropology supports and donates to a few organizations, most often centred around the arts, women empowerment, and the environment. In 2021, their partnerships are with She's the First, an organization dedicated to the promotion of women's education, One Tree Planted, a reforestation organization where Anthropologie is supporting their efforts in Brazil, and the UNCF to support college education of black students in the United States.