Wayward Wayfair

Wayfair has all those cute commercials that end with the jingle, "Wayfair, you've got just what I need." But I don't need Wayfair. Not after how they've acted lately. Yesterday, it came to light that they have been selling furniture to the detention facilities (concentration camps) at the border where migrant children who have been taken from their parents are being imprisoned, neglected, and abused. And while some people may say, "at least the kids have beds now thanks to Wayfair," that's not a good excuse to look the other way while a big company profits from working with fascists.

Today, the workers there staged a walkout because Wayfair didn't agree with their suggestion to make a donation to RAICES, which is helping reunite the separated families. And in response to the walkout and the negative press and the boycotts, Wayfair has announced that it will donate the profits from that infamous sale to the Red Cross. How that will help the situation at the border is unclear, but the reasons why donating to the Red Cross is not a good idea right now are very clear.

Yesterday I wrote an angry email to Wayfair:

I meant what I said. I don't see any amends being made here, just more of the same corporate nonsense that passes for intelligent communication these days. I don't see myself specifying anything from them anytime soon. I'm already boycotting Home Depot and Ethan Allen out of pettiness and spite; at least adding Wayfair to the list of home goods stores I refuse to patronize is for a reason outside of my personal grudges.

As a designer, it's actually not that hard for me to boycott Wayfair because I've already set up accounts with some of the manufacturers that supply them. I can get a better discount than the 20% off they offer by purchasing wholesale anyway. Besides, their quality is all over the place. I bought a dresser from Wayfair last year that was so shoddy that it fell apart while I was trying to build it. But I also got a gorgeous rug from them. However, that rug, like so many mass-produced things, can be purchased somewhere else.

But if you're not an interior designer, I can see how you'd be upset about removing Wayfair from your roster of preferred furniture sites. Some alternatives to look into:
Houzz
Overstock
Target
Zulily
eBay
TJ Maxx/Marshall's/HomeGoods
World Market
Grandin Road
Bed Bath and Beyond

Also, if you like modern furniture like me, keep in mind that AllModern is part of Wayfair. You might want to consider these stores instead:
Poly and Bark
Interior Define
Article
Structube

No doubt, there are probably people who think, "How can you politicize a furniture store? That's why this country is so divided nowadays!" But I see it differently. A significant portion of people in the USA are fascists or fascist-adjacent. And thank God a significant portion of people in this country have the decency to object to the fascists. Not every issue can be boiled down to binaries and moral absolutes, but this can. There is no moderation or compromise when it comes to matters of recognizing the humanity of other human beings. As a Black woman, for the sake of my own self-preservation, I will not compromise with those who refuse to acknowledge my humanity. I have chosen to distance myself from racists for my own self-protection. I feel a camaraderie with and empathy for those who are also targets of the fascists and my liberation is tied to theirs. Wayfair had a choice about doing business with the most oppressive aspect of the current regime and chose to because of a warped sense of what it means to be tolerant and not discriminate. And they have earned the repercussions and consequences of that choice. Maybe now they will write a code of ethics since they don't have one.

Like my angry letter to Wayfair, I will end my post with this quote:

“Design is not an intellectual exercise... Oppression has always had great use for architects and designers and urban planners... And everything that betrays our collective humanity depends on people just like you."
—Teju Cole

If you want to read a good article about the Wayfair Walkout, here's one.
And if you want to read Teju Cole's speech in its entirety, it's here.