U.S : Risking their lives for designer selfies !

Dear friend,

Who rents a designer ball gown during a pandemic ?! Apparently a lot of people.¹

And the clothing rental company Rent the Runway is taking advantage of a loophole in New Jersey's executive order that shut down non-essential businesses to force its over 500 warehouse workers to keep showing up despite workers getting sick and speaking up about fearing for their lives.² 

All of this so Rent the Runway executives and shareholders can profit off of people who want to wear designer clothes in video chats or pose for selfies in luxury ball gowns. Horrifying. Rent the Runway has prided itself on its image as a progressive company that cares about its workers and is already feeling the pressure after a round of bad press. If enough of us speak up, we can finally get Rent the Runway to thoroughly protect workers on the job and allow them to stay home without losing a paycheck. Will you add your name?

Tell Rent the Runway :  "Stop risking workers' lives to ship  designer dresses during the pandemic."

Sign the petition

Rent the Runway--a billion dollar company--is operating through a loophole in New Jersey's executive order, which shutdown all non-essential businesses but makes an exemption for fulfillment centers. This loophole is meant to ensure the distribution of necessities, not designer dresses.³ 

New Jersey, where Rent the Runway's warehouses are located, has been one of the hardest-hit states during the Covid-19 pandemic with nearly 140,000 cases and 10,000 deaths so far.⁴ And Rent the Runway's warehouse is minutes from New York City, the hardest hit hot zone.⁵ Warehouse workers, who are mostly immigrant women, report fearing for their lives when they go into the tight quarters of the warehouse and handle thousands of items of used clothing with few protections. Their co-workers are getting sick, and still, they have to show up. Because of the fulfillment loophole, employees can't even apply for unemployment benefits if they decide to stop working but the warehouse keeps operating ! ⁶

Enough. Rent the Runway's CEO and top management are safely working from home while forcing warehouse workers to risk their health and their lives to keep turning out profit. But they've been forced into damage control after a damning exposé and have already taken some minor steps--if enough of us raise our voices right now, we can finally force Rent the Runway to protect workers. Rent the Runway should commit to long-term provisions for paid sick and family leave, hazard pay, personal protective equipment, and the option to stay home without losing a paycheck.

Will you add your name demanding Rent the Runway put workers' lives above designer dresses?

Thanks for speaking out !

Shaunna, Kat, Kathy, Anathea, Sonja, Melody, Lindsay, Pam, Maria, Kimberly, and Katie, the UltraViolet team

Sources :

1. Why People Are Still Renting Clothes, Even In Quarantine, Refinery 29, April 15, 2020

2. Rent The Runway Is Risking Workers’ Lives To Ship Designer Dresses In A Pandemic, Huffington Post, May 6, 2020

3. Ibid.

4. New Jersey Coronavirus Map and Case Count, New York Times, May 11, 2020

5. New York City Coronavirus Map and Case Count, New York Times, May 11, 2020

6. Rent The Runway Is Risking Workers’ Lives To Ship Designer Dresses In A Pandemic, Huffington Post, May 6, 2020.

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