Etsy Banning Trans-Skeptic, But Selling Violent Anti-Christian Merchandise
Please find below our account of engagement with the niche retail merchandise vendor Etsy, slightly edited for clarity and brevity:
Question that Bowyer Research asked during the Annual Shareholder Meeting:
According to the Corporate Bias Report from the conservative 1792Exchange, Etsy is at high risk of biased corporate cancellation of services: "Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs". In a time of polarization, should the company not make sure to be neutral on political and cultural issues?
Question was read aloud during annual meeting and CEO responded as follows:
“Thanks a lot for the important question, I appreciate it. Etsy serves a broad variety of both buyers and sellers across the political spectrum and it's our desire to appeal to the broad middle. We want to be a brand that's known and loved and trusted by the broad middle by the vast majority of buyers and sellers and try to avoid getting dragged into things that are seen as hyperpartisan and divisive.
There's so much that we all agree on and we really want to focus on the things that we agree. And make sure that our brand therefore is loved and and trusted…”
Bowyer Research Follow-up by Email:
I appreciate Mr. Silverman taking my question today…And I appreciate his answers as well, that the company “appeal to the broad middle…across the political spectrum”. But honestly, that seems more aspirational than reality right now. I mentioned the Corporate Bias Report (Corporate Bias Ratings - 1792 Exchange). I also see that the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Viewpoint Diversity Index also gives Etsy a low score (Viewpoint Diversity Score) on viewpoint diversity. I believe that Etsy proudly announces its 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign (Etsy receives score of 100 out of 100 on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index - Etsy Advocacy).
If conservative groups give the company a low score and a prominent liberal group gives you a high score, that certainly suggests a lack of neutrality. Also, recent headlines have indicated that clearly there are issues when it comes to retailers appealing to the broad middle and at the same time seeming to take sides on some issues which trigger highly negative responses from that broad middle.
I don’t write this to play gotcha. I write this on behalf of the institutional investors with whom I work to try to help companies get back to neutral.
Email response from company:
Thank you for reaching out. We welcome buyers and sellers from all backgrounds on Etsy, and you'll find a wide range of perspectives reflected in the items on our marketplace. We embrace free speech, including the expression of political affiliations and opinions, provided they comply with our seller policies.
Bowyer Research Reply:
And what are your seller policies? Are they fairly and evenly applied? Both the Corporate Bias Report and the Viewpoint Diversity Index I sent both indicate that they are not applied in an unbiased manner.
Etsy Response:
Thank you for your interest in Etsy, and for contacting our Investor Relations team. We will review your request and follow up as soon as possible.
The response is clearly an auto-reply and it was sent on June 14th, no response since then.
Bowyer response:
It has been some time since I received this email. When you reply, could you please respond to the following as well.
Let me make this more specific. I understand that you cancelled a vendor relationship with Colin Wright. Wright sold merchandise which questioned recent social trends which seek to distinguish between biological sex and gender. In other words, he took a position which is unpopular among trans-activists.
It appears that the company does not sell products which question that point of view. Here's what I get when I search for "anti-trans" merchandise: (Anti-trans - Etsy)
What comes up is a mixture of PRO-TRANS merchandise, including the "Satan respects pronouns" tee-shirt sold by the designer with whom Target formerly had an ill-fated and brand-destructive partnership. That is not the only Satanic merchandise which comes up on that request. In addition, there is a wide array of anti-religious content, some of which is threatening in nature (for instance a call to protect trans-youth with the image of a dagger).
When I search for "anti-religion" merchandise, I actually get do get anti-religion merchandise: (Anti-religion - Etsy). The merchandise is clearly hateful, insulting, and actually incites violence, calling the reader to "Burn Down Your Local Church".
So, a search for anti-religious merchandise brings forth extremely hostile, even threatening anti-religious merchandise. A search for anti-trans merchandise brings forth no anti-trans merchandise at all, but rather pro-trans products.
Whatever your seller policies are, they are either inherently biased, or vague and interpreted in a biased way. Second request: Could I please see your seller policy?
Our options are to:
· Stop knocking at the door.
· Keep knocking at this door.
· Take the matter to the court of public opinion by publishing an article about it.
· Consider using other openings such as the corporate version of a freedom of information act request and/or working with shareholders to propose a resolution to be voted on at the annual meeting.
At this point, we are considering our options as to how to continue to point this, currently unresponsive, company back to its proper focus on its core business and away from ideological distractions. We are likely to respond using available media outlets, and if there is a shareholder who is interested in pursuing a proposal for a ballot resolution, exploring that option as well.