Lorin Gildersleeve sent a message to Carol Meyrowitz that said:
Dear Ms. Markowitz,
My name is Lorin Gildersleeve and I am a senior Social Work student at Saint Joseph's College of Maine. I have been a been an avid consumer at T.J Maxx over the last three years. It is an affordable and stylish place to shop when you are a college student like myself.
I am currently taking a Social Problems class and have come across information about how big manufacturing companies are impacting our environment and human rights issues. After looking at the Better World Shopperâs website (a website that provides research on companies based on their impact on human rights, the environment, animal protection, and social justice related issues), I was shocked to see that T.J Maxx received a D- as a grade for significant negative impacts on people and the planet. As a young person who is trying to be as environmentally friendly, and ethically moral as possible, this makes me question the values and ethics of T.J Maxx.
T.J Maxx has a big following, and I personally know many people who like your products including myself, but there is an underlying question that needs to be addressed. That question is: who and what is being exploited in the process of making your products? As a consumer, I believe that we have the right to know what is going into what we are buying. As a human being who respects the planet and wants to see future generations thrive, I hope you can understand that I can no longer support T.J Maxx as a company due to its impact on the world.
As the highest paid female CEO in America, I commend you for working hard to achieve the wealth and status that you have earned. However, I will ask you one more question: is your wealth and status worth sacrificing the livelihood of our plant? Is exploiting workers in order to make more of a profit worth the money that you are receiving? I understand that these issues are complex and can be hard to address, but at some point, these issues will surface.
You have power in your position to speak up about how T.J. Maxx does business an act in which most women in this world will never be able to do. You have an opportunity to make a difference in this world. The smallest changes can add up to big results, and I hope that you can consider altering T.J Maxxâs policies around environmental impact, and human rights issues. If you care at all about the future of human experience, I urge you to consider my concerns in hopes for a better future.
Sincerely,
Lorin Gildersleeve
