Fashion Law Journal
Rent the Runway, an online rental clothing service was declared to be an essential service in this pandemic, Covid 19. The company was started in 2009 which provides women clothing for rent like Coats, denims etc. Initially it was an e-commerce website but lately, they opened a few stores in New York City. Amidst this pandemic, the whole world is taking precautions, various countries are completely locked down and companies like Rent the Runway are fully functional, putting their employees at huge risk catching coronavirus while shipping the designer goods. Turns out that the company gave its workers two options: either work and get paid or sit at home without any pay. Workers slammed the company’s response towards pandemic, failing to implement social distancing and providing masks for workers and its handling of staff layoffs.
A large number of current and former employees of this company have expressed their distress, the treatment of the fashion rental company. They say that it encourages shoppers to rent fashionable clothes to wear during zoom meetings and in-house photo shoots. One of the workers from San Francisco mentioned that they are at huge risk of corona virus due to handling of ‘dirty clothes’
“It’s like they just don’t care,” said Kevin, who reluctantly returned to work after running out of savings to live off. “It’s heartless. It’s really heartless.”
The American economy is going down but companies like Rent the Runway are generating revenue by putting their workers and employees at risk. Amazon.com or Walmart Inc are providing essential services but many other companies are risking the lives of workers by shipping furniture or fashion clothes, accessories etc. Some retailers, including Wayfair, Kohl’s and Macy’s, have given workers letters from executives to show police if they are stopped while commuting. Rent the Runway is also one of them who has given letters to its workers for seamless travel across the states. The companies said they are prioritizing safety by cleaning, encouraging social distancing and providing protective gear. IKEA, Kohl’s and Walmart said that their workers’ temperatures are checked before every shift. But several IKEA workers said that’s not happening at their warehouses. It is disheartening to see that people are still ordering non-essential things from various sources, forcing the company to keep their warehouses open and put their workers at health risk. These companies have called their products essential to people who suddenly need home-office furniture or other household items. Wayfair says that Consumers depend on “companies like Wayfair to keep them supplied with the items they need for their homes during these challenging times”
Workers at IKEA have raised question like why do they need to risk their health to ship decorative plastic trees, knick-knacks and couches. According to Bloomberg’s report, three employees of Amazon filed a complaint against the company alleging that the company put them and their families at risk of COVID-19 infection. The suit doesn’t ask for any damages for health risk but is only asking for a formal injunction to force Amazon to adhere to public health guidance. Despite pledging to spend $4 billion to deal with the effects of COVID-19, Amazon has come under fire for not doing enough to protect its workers and for cracking down on protests against the lack of health and safety measures at its warehouses.
Its not only about these companies, a lot of other firms are still working, ignoring the hazards attached to it due to novel Corona Virus. Its saddening to see that so many people are not taking this seriously and putting the works and employees at risk too. Shipping cosmetics or furniture is not an essential product at the time. People are going through difficulties and safety is of the utmost priority.
Author: Apoorva Mehta, Executive Manager at Legal Desire Media and Insights
