West Elm keeps silent during Russian-Ukraine War

“Silence in the force of injustice is complicity with the oppressor”

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine War in February 24,2022, countless companies have been showing their support in various ways. Some have been pulling back, boycotting, suspending and withdrawing their business from Russia. These companies have been showing solidarity to the country of Ukraine and its citizens. I believe that everybody should be trying to help and support in any way they can, just by shining a light on the subject and educating others.

I was disappointed to see that West Elm has not made a statement or posted anything about the war in their website or social media accounts. I googled for like 30 minutes trying to find something and the only thing I could find was in their family brands website Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teens, Rejuvenation, and Williams-Sonoma. In their home page if you scroll down enough you could find this:

They have a link to Save the Children’s website to donate directly or donate through their website and they will match the donations.

I felt a little bit of relief when I saw it but then my immediate thought was why isn’t West Elm doing the same?

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. owns Williams-Sonoma, Williams Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Rejuvenation and Mark & Graham. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is one of the United State’s largest e-commerce retailers with some of the best known and most beloved brands in home furnishing. They currently operate retail stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, and the United Kingdom. But they also franchise the brands to third parties in several countries in the Middle East, the Philippines and Mexico. From what I read, West Elm doesn’t have stores in Russia, they offer international shipping to over 60 countries but Russia is not one of them from my research.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. emphasizes how they want to put customers at the center of everything and create high-quality, safe, and sustainable products. They talk about how much they want to help the earth but when something this horrific is happening in the world, they won’t say anything?

“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something” -Nicole Salmon

I believe that human rights should be put first and what is happening right now in Ukraine is inhumane. If you or a company are neutral on this matter then you are complacent. The world needs to take collective actions to end this war.