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Black Lives Matter.

It’s important that our whole community—our employees, customers and followers—know that we stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We are sharing this letter from our founders in order to include our community as a whole in this urgent conversation, and we will be updating you on our progress along the way.

Dear team,

We are a shoe brand, but if the events of this past week have taught us anything, it’s that we have an opportunity to represent so much more. While our silence the last few days has been deafening to many of you, it's been necessary to provide space and time for us to begin to build a bridge for meaningful change going forward.

We know that further educating ourselves is the first step in being better leaders for our team. Like many of you, we have opened our ears and are taking it all in. We are reading letters and CEO statements. We’re hearing the voices and stories of those on social media and evaluating resources to offer us more knowledge.

Focusing on our team is the first step. While the path forward isn’t completely clear, we know it is important for all of us to feel equally represented, supported and heard. 

We will begin with: 

  • Round table discussions.
  • Better representation of Black models, influencers and overall diversity in our marketing.
  • A diversity council.
  • Representation of diversity in all company initiatives. 
  • Company goal-setting created with all our collective voices.

We will provide:

  • Honesty
  • Accountability
  • Resources
  • Time
  • Acknowledgement
  • Respect

Growth does not happen in times of comfort. History teaches us that real change happens through pressure, unity and commitment. We will be even more successful if we lock arms and bring our individual strengths together as a collective unit.  

The heart of this company has always been the people, and we are 100% committed to doing our best for you. That means having hard conversations, being open for fresh perspectives and listening to every voice in the room.

Thank you for being on this journey alongside us. We love you, we appreciate you and we are listening to you.

Roth Martin & Stephen Hawthornthwaite

Illustration of an indigo heart on a white background. 

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