Two of the country's largest clothing chains have come out strongly against Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, denouncing the law as "legalized discrimination."
In a joint open letter,
Today Gap Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co. are calling on retail and apparel companies, and other businesses, to join us in speaking out against legalized discrimination.
Both of our companies have a long history of standing up for equal rights and equal opportunity for all. We have consistently spoken out against discrimination and unequal treatment based on race, sex or sexual orientation.
As Indiana, Arkansas, and states around the country enact and consider legislation that perpetuates discrimination, we’re urging State Legislatures to stand up for equality by repealing and voting against these discriminatory laws.
These new laws and legislation, that allow people and businesses to deny service to people based on their sexual orientation, turn back the clock on equality and foster a culture of intolerance.
Discriminatory laws are unquestionably bad for business, but more importantly, they are fundamentally wrong. They must be stopped.
At Gap Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co., we are proud to say we are open to business for everyone
Both of our companies have a long history of standing up for equal rights and equal opportunity for all. We have consistently spoken out against discrimination and unequal treatment based on race, sex or sexual orientation.
As Indiana, Arkansas, and states around the country enact and consider legislation that perpetuates discrimination, we’re urging State Legislatures to stand up for equality by repealing and voting against these discriminatory laws.
These new laws and legislation, that allow people and businesses to deny service to people based on their sexual orientation, turn back the clock on equality and foster a culture of intolerance.
Discriminatory laws are unquestionably bad for business, but more importantly, they are fundamentally wrong. They must be stopped.
At Gap Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co., we are proud to say we are open to business for everyone.
While Levi's has avoided weighing in on social or political issues in the past, Gap Inc. has a history of activism. The San Francisco-based apparel company launched an equal pay campaign called #LetsDoMore last fall, highlighting “the missing 23 cents” — or, the 77 cents women make for every dollar their male counterparts bring in.
Thousands of Indiana-based retailers have already pledged to serve customers from all walks of life in spite of RFRA, which clears the way for store owners to refuse service to LGBT shoppers on religious grounds.
More than 2,000 Indiana merchants have signed up to be part of Open For Service, as Forbes contributor Laura Heller wrote shortly after Governor Mike Pence signed RFRA into law. These small business owners have each paid a $10 joining fee to receive a sticker for their window that reads: "This business serves everyone."
As Heller also noted, it was indeed a retailer that opened the door for RFRA. Last June, the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act was infringing on craft store chain Hobby Lobby’s religious rights by forcing the company (and its evangelical owners) to provide full contraceptive coverage to its 13,000 workers as part of its health care plan.
Like Hobby Lobby, Catholic-run organic food producer Eden Foods sued the U.S. Government over Obamacare's birth control mandate. Last fall, a handful of regional grocery co-ops nationwide removed Eden Foods products from their shelves in response.
