WWD Yearbook: Fashionable Philanthropy, Who Gave What
Corporate citizenship has a long history at the major apparel retailers.
Though people, planet and profit may all be key aspects of brand purpose, weighing each is important in navigating priorities in an ever-evolving business world and climate.
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That’s where corporate philanthropy comes into play as a valuable depiction of company values.
Here, WWD presents an inaugural corporate philanthropist list as informed by the apparel industry’s most recent CEO pay rankings (taking the companies with the top 10 chief executive officer compensation packages) examining how Amazon, Warby Parker, TJX Companies, Nike Inc., Walmart, Ralph Lauren Corp., G-III Apparel Group (figures could not be determined), Target, Gap Inc. and Levi’s, for example, stack up in terms of philanthropy.
While the retailers and brands also facilitate in-store fundraising, associate volunteerism and employee give-back matching, along with a number of specific in-kind donations (food, product, etc.), this list is intended as a general overview for ease of comparison and simplicity.
Donation figures are derived from Securities and Exchange Commission filings (in the case that shares are charitable contributions) and ESG reports.
The purpose of this list-style format is to highlight how much companies give relative to their size, with the larger the percentage indicating a more charitable contribution relative to revenue. (As is the business norm, the numbers represent a small percentage, though that may be changing if Patagonia’s story and $3 billion-valued donation inspires any shifts.)
A league of its own: Patagonia gave away 30% of its total revenues in 2022.
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $3 billion (estimated value)
CEO Pay: Unknown — Ryan Gellert
Revenue: $10 billion
Major Causes: To equate Patagonia with anything other than the fight against climate change is a mistake. In the latest bold stride this year, Patagonia founder and environmentalist Yvon Chouinard transferred his family’s ownership of the company to two new entities, the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. The Holdfast Collective will delve out $100 million annually (depending on the outdoor gear company’s profits) as a dividend to the collective.
The collective owns 98 percent of the company (the trust maintains the remaining 2 percent of the voting stock) and will “use every dollar received from Patagonia to protect nature and biodiversity, support thriving communities and fight the environmental crisis,” per Patagonia. This unique move is highlighted for reference.
Warby Parker gave away 2.23% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $13.62 on Dec. 20 (compared to $43.91 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2022: 178,572 shares (or $3.3 million)
CEO Pay: $103.6 million — Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa
Revenue: $148.8 million
Major Causes: Warby Parker, naturally, has its sights set on vision care and access for its philanthropic endeavors. In 2021, Warby Parker authorized future donations up to a maximum amount of 1 percent of its shares, either to the Warby Parker Impact Foundation or other like-minded charities. These include the Mexican nonprofit Ver Bien Para Aprender Mejor, a partner in the company’s Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, which brings vision services to students around the country.
To note, in February 2022, Warby Parker celebrated distributing more than 10 million pairs of glasses through its “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program.
Nike gave away 1.09% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $103.21 on Dec. 20 (compared to $155.31 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2021: $36.6 million
Total Giving: $118.7 million
CEO Pay: $28.8 million — John Donahoe
Revenue: $10.8 billion
Major Causes: Nike’s Purpose strategy anchors its purpose, naturally in people, planet and play. Last year, the activewear giant linked its purpose targets to executive compensation, including aims to invest $125 million in organizations supporting racial equity by 2025 ($36.6 million to community organizations in fiscal year 2021). Its philanthropic arm places a precedent on Black community empowerment and extends to causes like the NAACP Empowerment Programs, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. (LDF), Black Girls Code, Black Girl Ventures, Goalsetter and the National Urban League. To note, the Knight Foundation of the family of Nike founder Phil Knight also logs sizable annual charitable contributions, including $1.37 billion in 2020 (which was not included in this list).
Target gave away 1.05% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $143.25 on Dec. 20 (compared to $214.65 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2021: $274 million ($80 million cash, $194 million in kind donations)
CEO Pay: $19.8 million — Brian Cornell
Revenue: $26.12 billion
Major Causes: Target prioritizes community relationships and advancing equity through work with local organizations such as the Minneapolis Foundation’s Restore, Rebuild & reimagine Community Fund. In 2021, Target mobilized around key issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and made a $5 million incremental commitment to community-based NGOs working to advance vaccine equity among diverse populations. This support included Minnesota Council on Foundations, the Minnesota Department of Health Equity Fund and Phyllis Wheatley Community Center Vaccine for Life program. (To note: If calculated by profit, Target pledges 5 percent annually.) Separately, The Target Foundation also closed on its first Program-Related Investment (PRI) to the Minnesota Inclusive Growth Fund (MIGF).
Walmart gave away 0.26% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $144.05 on Dec. 20 (compared to $137.05 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $1.5 billion
CEO Pay: $25.7 million — Doug McMillon
Revenue: $573 billion
Major Causes: The Walmart Foundation categorizes its broad (and global) contributions according to sustainability, community, racial equity and more.
The Walmart Foundation supports everything from food security under The Equitable Food Initiative to conservation under Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental de Amazonia (IPAM), healthy eating with the American Heart Association to career advancement and financial literacy with the Women of Color Outreach and Development Programs (WBENC).
Levi’s gave away 0.19% of its total revenues in 2022.
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $12.2 million
CEO Pay: $16.3 million — Chip Bergh (incoming Michelle Gass)
Revenue: $6.265 billion
Major Causes: True to the brand’s denim history, the 1952-founded Levi Strauss Foundation focuses on pioneering visions and ideas. This includes everything from reproductive rights, voting access, worker well-being to Pioneers in Justice, a program created in 2010 to redefine the relationship between social justice nonprofits and impact. Levi’s community affairs giving and product donations also comprise corporate giving, separate from the foundation’s efforts.
This year, the Levi Strauss Foundation invested $12.2 million in communities where the brand has a business presence — or the highest amount in 25 years. Levi’s also separately counts its Red Tab Foundation (now in its 40th year), which mobilized some $2.2 million in grant-funding in times of undue hardship (be it a Ukraine-based stylist seeking hardship aid to a retail manager fronting the bills for her mother’s brain cancer) on an individual basis.
Ralph Lauren gave away 0.18% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $101.65 on Dec. 20 (compared to $105.83 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $11.4 million
CEO Pay: $18.6 million — Patrice Louvet
Revenue: $6.22 billion
Major Causes: The Ralph Lauren Corporation and its separate Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation maintain decades-long investments in areas such as cancer research and prevention, among other causes. Just this year, the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation pledged to provide $25 million in new grant funding to expand or establish five Ralph Lauren cancer centers, with a mission to reduce disparities in cancer care and access for underserved communities in the U.S.
Combined fiscal year 2022 contributions from the company and The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation totaled more than $11.4 million ($4.6 million from the company and $6.8 million from the foundation).
Gap Inc. gave away 0.15% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $12.17 on Dec. 20 (compared to $15.84 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $25.25 million
CEO Pay: $18.3 million — formerly Sonia Syngal
Revenue: $16.67 billion
Major Causes: The 40-year-old Gap Foundation is committed to community-driven impact and career advancement, among other focuses. Its two signature programs include This Way ONward, a paid internship program for young adults from low-income communities, and Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (or P.A.C.E.), which powers advancement of women and girls.
In another stride, this year Gap Inc. and Harlem’s Fashion Row celebrated the second annual “Closing the Gap” initiative, which helps support fashion programs at nine Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country with more than $500,000 in donations. Gap’s total giving for the fiscal year ending March 2022 was $25.25 million (including Gap Inc. cash, Gap Foundation cash and in-kind donations). When it comes to ESG, the company pledges a balanced focus on women empowerment, enabling opportunity and enriching communities with a focus on natural resource protection.
TJX Companies gave away 0.13% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $77.59 on Dec. 20 (compared to $71.20 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $78.8 million
CEO Pay: $31.8 million — Ernie Herrman
Revenue: $60 billion
Profit: $31.042 billion
Major Causes: Through its three foundations in the U.S., Canada and Europe, TJX provides philanthropic grants to selected nonprofit organizations spanning workplace, community, environment and small business needs. Some of the organizations TJX has given to include the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., Black Business and Professional Association and Access UK, among others.
European donations are made via the TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation.
Amazon gave away 0.13% of its total revenues in 2022.
Stock Price: $85.19 on Dec. 20 (compared to $167.08 a year earlier)
Charitable Contributions in 2022: $600 million (equivalent in Amazon shares donated by Jeff Bezos).
Total Giving: $366.7 million
CEO Pay: $212.7 million — Andy Jassy
Revenue: $469.8 billion
Major Causes: AmazonSmile facilitates cause-based commerce allocating 0.5 percent of a purchase to go toward a customer’s charity of choice, if the purchase was made on Smile.Amazon.com. Among them are Feeding America, Save the Children, Equal Justice Initiative, Rescued Paws and Pro-Choice America, among others.
Through its Amazon Business Donations Hub, the company contributed more than $225 million in in-kind donated items (among them personal protective equipment, school supplies and more) in 2021.
Methodology: Data sources include SEC filings, Yahoo Finance and company ESG reports. Order arranged by charitable contributions calculated as a percentage of overall revenue, though profit may also be used.
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