FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Kassidy Braziel, Open to All | kassidy@opentoall.com | 954-296-5280

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[BOULDER, CO] JUNE 8, 2023 — An additional three major retailers have joined Open to All^® and signed the pledge in commitment to maintain retail environments where everyone is welcome—regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion, or ability.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK) is the latest addition to Open to All’s Leadership Circle. Open to All also welcomed Brilliant Earth and Pandora as corporate partners. Corporate partners of Open to All have access to the organization’s unique diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming, featuring monthly corporate briefings, access to a community of like-minded peers, and collaboration opportunities like the Inclusive Retail Campaign and the Mitigate Racial Bias in Retail Charter.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Brilliant Earth, Pandora, and Victoria’s Secret & Co. to Open to All,” said Calla Devlin Rongerude, managing director of Open to All. “Each company has demonstrated a commitment to deepening their diversity, equity, and inclusion work. We look forward to their contributions to our Inclusive Retail initiative, our Mitigate Racial Bias in Retail Charter collaboration, and working together to have industry-wide impact as we strive to create a culture of belonging where everyone is welcomed and respected.”

This Pride season, Open to All is continuing their year-round work to protect and advance the lives of LGBTQ employees and customers. This support is especially important in light of recent legislative attacks on the LGBTQ community, including those limiting access to gender-affirming care for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals. With over 600 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year alone, these cruel, coordinated attacks brazenly disregard one’s right to live, work, and shop freely and safely.

“At VS&CO, we’re committed to empowering our communities, advancing equity, upholding human rights, and promoting social justice. We are especially focused on mitigating bias in retail for women, POC and LGBTQIA+ communities because we are confident that is where we can have the most direct and meaningful impact with our global footprint. We’re excited to partner with Open to All to help guide our actions and, along with other Open to All partners, make retail spaces more welcoming for everyone.” said Lydia Smith, chief diversity officer at Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Once again, Open to All is partnering with Yelp to make it easier to find safe and welcoming businesses to celebrate LGBTQ equality, which is more important than ever, given that hate violence is at an all-time high. Yelp helps users identify not only LGBTQ-owned businesses, but also the hundreds of thousands of Open to All businesses that will celebrate equality not only during Pride, but year-round.

EDUCATING PARTNERS ABOUT ONGOING ATTACKS TARGETING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

The current situation is extremely difficult for LGBTQ individuals, activists, and supporters due to the startling number of fronts from which LGBTQ people are being targeted. To better inform their corporate partners on recent anti-trans bills and actions companies can take to safeguard their employees’ rights, Open to All recently partnered with the Movement Advancement Project to host a rapid response briefing on the subject.

Logan Casey, senior policy researcher and advisor for the Movement Advancement Project, joined the conversation to share a summary of current laws influencing access to gender-affirming treatment. The Movement Advancement Project’s Tessa Juste co-hosted the meeting alongside Casey to address currently pending litigation against such legislation and the legal ramifications of businesses becoming involved in support of the LGBTQ community. This briefing focused on informing Open to All corporate partners on how to best support transgender and non-binary staff members and their transgender and non-binary family members during these unprecedented times.

Later in June, the Movement Advancement Project will collaborate with Open to All once more to host another briefing. The content will be uplifting and celebratory as corporate partners gather to participate in the organization’s annual Queer Trivia briefing. While current times are challenging, this briefing presents an opportunity for partners to celebrate the many positive ways the LGBTQ community has influenced our society throughout history.

“Pandora gives a voice to people’s loves, and regardless of how a person displays their love, we are there to help everyone capture life’s important and special moments with our jewelry. Pandora further promises to stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion in a way for everyone to feel comfortable being their authentic selves every day. We foster open dialogue, celebrate our unique characteristics, and embrace our many cultures and traditions. Every person is welcome within our stores and offices. Through our DE&I Council, we will continually evaluate our approach and techniques to enhance our culture of diversity, equity, and inclusivity, where we teach, learn, and grow together,” said Luciano Rodembusch, president, Pandora North America.

SAFEGUARDING GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR EMPLOYEES & THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS

In response to recently imposed medical care bans, some Open to All corporate partners have already enacted policies and benefits to ensure their employees and employees’ family members have access to the care they need. Companies are offering employees travel benefits, ranging from $4,000 to $10,000, if they cannot receive gender-affirming care in their states. These stipends cover transportation and lodging expenses employees may incur while seeking gender-affirming care outside of states where laws restrict or ban access to such services. Many of these benefits also apply to any family members covered by employer-sponsored insurance, such as employees’ spouses or dependents.

Since the majority of Open to All corporate partners have numerous locations across the country, retailers are also offering associates the opportunity to transfer to a store in a different state, with many companies offering relocation stipends to do so. In more ways than one, Open to All corporate partners are stepping up to serve as industry leaders in response to governmental attacks on LGBTQ rights.

“Our mission at Brilliant Earth is rooted in our work to bring transparency, inclusivity, and sustainability to the jewelry industry and to our company,” said Beth Gerstein, co-founder, CEO of Brilliant Earth. “We are proud to partner with Open to All as we continue our commitment to creating an equitable space that values the uniqueness of our employees and our customers, while driving real change that may inspire others to do the same.”

Open to All unites and galvanizes national leaders in business, civic engagement, and the nonprofit sector to take a stand for shared American values of fairness and equality. Never before have so many businesses and nonprofits joined together in a single, unified campaign that sends a message that everyone is welcome, valued, and respected. Because when a business is open to the public, it should be open to all. Businesses can sign the pledge at https://www.opentoall.com/business-members/#business-pledge. For more information about the Open to All coalition or today’s announcement, please visit www.OpenToAll.com.

The full list of companies that have pledged to be Open to All are Adidas, American Eagle Outfitters (American Eagle, Aerie, Todd Snyder, Unsubscribed), Ann Taylor, Bath & Body Works, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Ben & Jerry’s, Brilliant Earth, Burlington Stores, Cacique, Capri Holdings Limited (Versace, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors), CarMax, CBL Properties, Cartier, Club Monaco, Crocs, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Fossil Group (Fossil, Michele, Skagen, Watch Station, Zodiac), fresh, Gap Inc. (Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy), Glossier, H&M, J.Crew Group (J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, Madewell), Lacoste, Lane Bryant, Loft, LVMH, maurices, Misfit, Movado Group, Pandora, Petco, Ralph Lauren Corporation, REI Co-op, Rimowa, rue21, Tapestry (Coach, kate spade new york, Stuart Weitzman), The Body Shop, Tiffany & Co., Under Armour, URBN (Anthropologie, Free People, Nuuly, Urban Outfitters), UGG^®, Victoria’s Secret & Co. (Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK), VF Corporation (The North Face^®, Vans^®, Timberland^®, Dickies^®, Smartwool ^®), Yelp, Zara, and Zola.

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ABOUT OPEN TO ALL: Open to All is a nondiscrimination program based around the idea that everyone should be welcomed, valued, and respected. Open to All is a growing coalition of more than 200 non-profits, including civil rights and racial justice organizations, disability groups, LGBTQ groups, faith organizations, and more. Open to All also unites thousands of large and small businesses across the country to defend the bedrock principle that when businesses open their doors to the public, they should be Open to All.

ABOUT VICTORIA’S SECRET & CO: Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE: VSCO) is a Fortune 500 specialty retailer of modern, fashion-inspired collections including signature bras, panties, intimates, casual sleepwear, athleisure, and swim, as well as award-winning prestige fragrances and body care. VS&Co is comprised of market leading brands, Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK, that share a common purpose of inspiring and uplifting customers in every stage of their lives, and Adore Me, a technology led, digital first innovative intimates brand serving women of all sizes and budgets at all phases of life. We are committed to empowering our more than 30,000 associates across a global footprint of approximately 1,350 retail stores in approximately 70 countries. We provide our customers with products and experiences that make them feel good inside and out while driving positive change through the power of our products, platform, and advocacy. 

ABOUT BRILLIANT EARTH: Brilliant Earth is a digitally native, omnichannel fine jewelry company and a global leader in ethically sourced fine jewelry. Led by our co-founders Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg, the Company’s mission since its founding in 2005 has been to create a more transparent, sustainable, and compassionate jewelry industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA and Denver, CO, Brilliant Earth now has 31 showrooms and services customers in over 50 countries worldwide. 

ABOUT PANDORA: Pandora is the world’s largest jewelry brand. The company designs, manufactures, and markets hand-finished jewelry made from high-quality materials at affordable prices. Pandora jewelry is sold in more than 100 countries through more than 6,500 points of sale, including more than 2,500 concept stores. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Pandora employs 32,000 people worldwide and crafts its jewelry at two LEED-certified facilities in Thailand. Pandora is committed to leadership in sustainability and will purchase only recycled silver and gold for crafting its jewelry by 2025 and halve greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2030. Pandora is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange and generated sales of DKK 26.5 billion (EUR 3.6 billion) in 2022.