We believe it’s essential to act on issues that affect the health of our communities near and far, the environment we share and the future of our political landscape. That decision can be polarizing, but using our platform to raise awareness and create positive change is a part of our DNA as a woman-founded company (learn more about our reasons for speaking up here).
Climate change policy, reproductive freedom, equal representation and workers’ rights all hinge on the outcome of the 2024 election, a historic opportunity to elect our first female president. The stakes are too high to sit this one out, which is why we’re urging you to vote for local and federal candidates who will stand up for vital policies.
Equitable and diverse representation is essential to enact meaningful change. That’s why we’re making a $25,000 donation to Vote Run Lead Action, a nonpartisan organization that helps women run for office—and win.
Female lawmakers have a proven track record of supporting and passing legislation that’s better for communities, families and the planet. VRLA unleashes the political power of all women as voters, candidates and leaders to create and sustain an inclusive democracy. Of their candidates, more than half are women of color, 31% are 35 years old and under, 26% are immigrants or first generation, 1 in 4 come from low-income households and 35% are parents. Alumni include Congresswomen Lauren Underwood, Ilhan Omar and Nikema Williams.
TAKING ACTION 
What VRLA Is Doing to Elect Women
- The group is uplifting candidates via the VRLA Women to Watch 2024 tracker, which shows states where women are stepping up to run for office. Check it to find local candidates who will uphold your key values.
- They also launched the interactive tool Charting Paths to a Women’s Majority, where you can learn more about leveraging open seats toward a reflective democracy.
- For those interested in running for office, VRLA provides exclusive VRLA training modules and resources.
- The organization is leading VRLA Victory Series: Winning Strategies in 2024 webinars, focusing on essential tools for making tangible change, such as digital campaigning and building accessible and disability-inclusive campaigns.
Are on the Ballot
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it set off a domino effect of state restrictions that have already had disastrous effects. In response, we announced that our health insurance would cover expenses to travel out of state to gain access to reproductive care. Reproductive healthcare restrictions, including outlawing abortion, disproportionately affect women of color. Unless we elect leaders willing to fight for everyone’s right to make choices about their body, women will continue to suffer.
TAKING ACTION
What We're Doing
- In 2024, we participated with 1,000 other businesses in the Don’t Ban Equality campaign to highlight that abortion access is a workplace and economic issue, which included a billboard in Times Square.
- In 2022, in response to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, EILEEN FISHER announced that our health insurance would cover expenses for eligible employees who needed to travel out of state to gain access to reproductive care
- In 2019, we joined the Bans Off Our Bodies coalition in support of reproductive rights.
- Eileen co-signed a letter in support of women’s reproductive rights, alongside other CEOs, that was featured in a New York Times ad on June 10, 2019.
- EILEEN FISHER sponsored a bus to take 45 of our employees to the January 21, 2017, Women’s March in Washington, DC.
Is on the Ballot
We’re committed to reducing our environmental impact—that’s why we set Science-Based Targets in 2017. However, it will take sustainable legislation that holds us all to the same standard to make widespread progress, so it’s essential to support leaders who stand behind responsible climate change policies this election.
TAKING ACTION
What We're Doing
- By 2030, 99% of our wool will be from Regenerative RWS or recycled sources and 50% of our cotton will be from regenerative organic sources.
- This year, over 98.5% of our linen will be organic, and 99.8% our cotton will be either organic or recycled. Cotton was the first organic fiber we introduced to our line, back in 2004.
- In 2023, we expanded the scope of our carbon footprint calculation to include emissions associated with packaging, use of sold products and end-of-life treatment of sold products so that we can see the total impact of our products.
- We support New York’s passing of the Fashion Act, which will require apparel companies to commit to and achieve goals to reduce the environmental impacts of their supply chains.
- For Giving Tuesday 2023, we donated $25,000 to Daughters for Earth, an organization that provides funding for global, women-led climate solutions.
- In 2023, EILEEN FISHER urged the EPA to strengthen the standards of sections 111(b) and (d) of the Clean Air Act in order to best leverage the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
- We’ve been taking back our clothes since 2009. In 2022, the number of used EILEEN FISHER garments collected through our Renew take-back program surpassed 2 million.
- We signed the business support letter for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 containing the nation’s largest ever climate investments.
- In 2021, we signed the “America Is All In” statement calling for national mobilization on climate and recovery—and timed to coincide with rejoining the Paris Agreement.
- Through stand.earth, we signed the 2017 pledge for Fashion’s Path to Paris, committing to measuring the carbon footprint in our supply chain and developing aggressive goals for reducing that footprint by 2020 and beyond.
Are on the Ballot
Electing more diverse leaders helps ensure fair voting and a wider turnout—all essential to a healthy democracy. Women currently represent 51% of the US population—but according to VRLA, only 33% of state legislators are women, and just 11% of Congress and 10% of state legislators are women and gender-diverse people of color. To change that, VRLA is on a mission to increase representation in state houses to 51% majority women by 2030.
TAKING ACTION
What We're Doing
- This year we will be offering an employee resource group session with VRL CEO and founder, Erin Vilardi.
- In 2022 we partnered with Motivote, a national digital platform that provides information about voting, candidates and ballot measures in order to remove barriers to access voting for members of our employee community.
- Through Business for America, we participated in a 2020 social media campaign to encourage Congress to fund secure absentee ballots and safe polling places.
- Since 2018, we’ve provided US employees paid time off to vote, and partnered with Power to the Polls to help recruit the next generation of poll workers. This year, US full-time and part-time employees who volunteer at their local polling location will be paid 8 hours at their regular hourly rate.
Discrimination Is
on the Ballot
We all succeed when we are respected, supported and valued for who we are. But historically, many marginalized groups have not had their rights equally guaranteed by law. As a company, we’re committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and have established practices to pave the way to a culture of inclusion. VRLA candidates have a proven history of fighting for legislation that protects their constituents, regardless of race, age, gender identity, romantic orientation or religious affiliation.
TAKING ACTION
What We're Doing
- In 2023 we expanded our mandatory employee anti-racism training program. It’s part of an ongoing partnership with Courageous Conversation (an award-winning protocol for effectively engaging, sustaining and deepening interracial dialogue), which began in 2022.
- We’ve revisited our internal processes to ensure that fostering a culture of inclusivity is part of each person’s job responsibilities.
- In 2021 we formed a new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, whose efforts include the establishment of the Black Employee Resource Group (BERG), an internal community for Black employees that provides an opportunity to share their experiences and grow their careers, and a group dedicated to supporting our LGBTQIA+ community.
- EILEEN FISHER began officially observing Juneteenth in 2021 to recognize the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, coupled with community events that celebrate ongoing African American contributions.
- In July 2021, we set a goal that 50% of our new hires would be People of Color. To further our mission and increase diversity company-wide, a working group was tasked to create proactive hiring strategies for specific teams. In 2023, 44% of new US hires were People of Color.
- We participated in the American Sustainable Business Network’s 2019 Capitol Hill advocacy day, meeting with Congressional staffers to discuss the need for policy in support of high-road workplaces that value employees' on-the-job success by meeting the needs they have in life.
Are on the Ballot
Responsibly made clothes must benefit the communities they touch. As a company striving to produce our clothing as ethically as possible, we are deeply committed to workers’ rights. To advance the interests of the people who make our clothes, we’ve acted to protect workers, raise minimum wages, advocate for equal pay and paid family leave and end forced labor. US labor laws are currently under threat, making these issues more important than ever.
TAKING ACTION
What We're Doing
- In 2024, we launched our partnership with Fair Trade USA™, the leading nonprofit, third-party certifier of fair trade products in North America. EILEEN FISHER is investing in certification for our key partners, starting with garment factories in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Jakarta, Indonesia, and will pay a Fair Trade Premium directly to the workers who make our clothes.
- We endorsed California’s Garment Worker Protection Act (SB62) in 2021, which expands liability for garment worker well-being, prohibits piece rate work and authorizes investigations of wage theft.
- We support passage of the Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change Act (FABRIC Act) to strengthen protections for garment workers in the US.
- We supported the 2017 campaign to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2024 through Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.
- Also in 2017, we supported the FAMILY Act, which creates a national paid family medical leave program paid for by a joint employer/employee contribution.