Corporate Responsibility

Another corporate ranking, another first place finish by Amazon.   The online giant came out on top in Harris Poll’s annual corporate reputation rankings report. The poll measures the reputations of the 100 most visible companies in the United States as perceived by the general public.        

Target Corp. leads other retailers when it comes to reaching and attracting qualified talent.    The discounter ranked the highest (at No. 26) among Fortune 500 retail-ers for employment branding in a study by global talent solutions com-pany WilsonHCG. Target was followed by Publix (No. 42), The Home Depot (No. 50), Walmart (No. 64), Nordstrom (No. 77) and Whole Foods Market (No. 115). No retailer cracked the top 10, which was led by Gen-eral Electric, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T.       

A retail pioneer in all-natural beauty products, ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility is facing an uncertain future.   L’Oreal is exploring a sale of The Body Shop for $1.1 billion, the Financial Times reported. The cosmetics giant bought the company, which operates some 3,000 stores across the globe, in 2006.   The Body Shop was founded in Brighton, England, in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick. The brand has struggled recently amid increased competition from an array of brands. 

Just days after it named its first-ever female CEO, Barneys is devoting the window displays at its uptown and downtown Manhattan flagships to an initiative celebrating women’s empowerment.   The windows are part of a new campaign launched by the Barneys New York Foundation, the charitable arm of the luxury specialty retailer. Entitled “We Will Be,” the initiative will run through the end of February to coincide with New York Fashion Week.   

Starbucks Corp.’s plan to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years (in its stores in 75 countries around the globe) has proved to be one of the socially progressive retailer’s most controversial moves to date.   The initiative, a response to President Trump’s executive order barring refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, has many conservatives and Trump supporters calling for a boycott of the coffee chain.   

Land’s End’s growing commitment to environmentally focused business practices has earned it the Green Masters Award — for the seventh consecutive year.  

On a wind farm near McAllen, Texas, with windmills that stand taller from tip to base than the Statue of Liberty, Home Depot is harvesting enough electricity to power 100 Home Depot stores.   The juice is flowing because of the Atlanta-based retailer’s deal with EDP Renewables North America, a deal that marks Home Depot’s first major investment in a wind-powered renewable energy project. The company says that in addition to supplying power to 100 stores, the deal provides $150,000 in local community benefits.  

Athleta’s latest line will provide a premium to the female workforce that created it.   The athleisure brand’s spring collection was manufactured in a factory certified by Fair Trade USA, an organization dedicated to creating social and economic opportunities for factory workers globally. For a product to earn Fair Trade certification, it must originate from a facility that operates according to the rigorous social, environmental and economic standards set in place by Fair Trade USA.