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Brands Walk Their Talk in Support of Women’s Rights

Setbacks such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade offer brands the opportunity to demonstrate their true commitment to supporting a healthy, equitable future for all.

By Lorenza Guerri | Published 3 years ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Derek French/Pexels

On June 24th, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — which for almost 50 years guaranteed women the federal, constitutional right to choice in the very personal decision of whether or not to bear a child. The new ruling turns power back to the individual states, which can now set their own abortion laws. Thirteen of them have trigger bans in place, effectively banning abortions; and an additional nine states are likely to follow suit.

Nationwide, more than half of women of reproductive age are affected by the ruling. In the aftermath, they face a return to health, education and economic inequality as they lose one of the most essential human rights: their ability to choose what is right for themselves. Their future is now once again unequally hindered, as is the future of generations of women to come.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, many organizations have reacted to this decision to voice support for those impacted. We are proud to say that many Sustainable Brands (SB) Members have already taken a stance — by vowing to cover employees’ travel expenses to states where abortions can still be legally obtained, committing to provide access to the necessary care, or by joining the growing Don't Ban Equality coalition. Here are a few of our members that have already taken action. Click below to learn more about how each organization is taking action to protect its employees’ access to safe abortions:

SB firmly stands in support of human rights and equality, including women’s rights. Supporting Women and Girls, Expanding Equity & Opportunity, and Showing Up are three of SB Brands for Good’s Nine Most Impactful Sustainable Behaviors that we advocate organizations and consumers can take together to ensure a sustainable and socially equitable future for all. As a remote workforce, SB supports and enables our team to choose to live in a state that represents their voice and choice. In addition, as a community of change-makers with a global platform, Sustainable Brands acknowledges the power of storytelling and collaborative action to support freedom and justice for all.

How can your organization best provide aid?

Organizations looking to walk their talk on fostering a fair and equitable society can support the cause by funding and enabling policies or causes in support of women and girls — such as covering travel costs for abortion, providing paid family leave and access to free contraceptives, promoting and funding sexual education, covering free healthcare, ending the wage gap, voting, and supporting political agendas that protect women’s rights.

This Supreme Court ruling will not be the last to affect the work in which we are all invested. At the time of writing, SCOTUS has just limited the EPA’s ability to reduce the carbon footprint of existing power plants, effectively ensuring the United States will not meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

What are your brand's values?

We honor and support those SB members that are voicing their commitment to equity and individual rights. Setbacks such as these offer the opportunity to demonstrate our true commitment to transformation for a sustainable future. If you’d like to ask for guidance and find a community of support, reach out to the Membership team or review the list of the nine sustainable behaviors.

Together, we can bring about the future we want — which includes free, fair and equitable access for all to healthcare, education, a clean and healthy environment, and our economic system.