Shoppers are calling on Nordstrom to pull Reformation products after a former employee accused the company of racist behavior in viral post

• A growing #BoycottReformation movement is calling upon Nordstrom to pull Reformation products in response to allegations of rampant racism within the brand's stores and corporate headquarters.
• "You all will have to be willing to sacrifice a whole lot of your comfort if you plan on rectifying the trauma you have caused countless employees," former employee Elle Santiago wrote in a now viral Instagram post to Reformation leadership.
• "Nordstrom does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and that extends to our partners," the official Nordstrom Instagram account wrote in response to a comment on Reformation's May 31 post. "We take this seriously and are looking into these claims."
• If you're a Reformation employee or someone with a story to tell, contact this reporter via email at bbiron@businessinsider.com or by encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 768-4706.

Shoppers are calling upon Nordstrom to pull Reformation from its stores in response to an outpouring of allegations of racist behavior inflicted against employees at both the company's retail locations and corporate headquarters.

The growing #BoycottReformation comes on the heels of a now viral post shared by former assistant store manager Elle Santiago that claims Reformation fostered a culture of systemic racism under the leadership of founder Yael Aflalo. Her statement comes in response to a May 31 post from Reformation pledging its support of the Black Lives Matter movement and listing donations it made to organizations including Reclaim The Block, Black Visions Collective, the ACLU, and the NAACP.

Triggered by the onslaught of performative corporate allyship, Santiago, as well as dozens of former employees, took to the comments section to share their personal experiences of racism at the company. Their comments include several similar stories of Black workers who were relegated to back of house inventory projects in overheated rooms with no air conditioning, and in one case, lack of running water.

If you want to help fight for justice right now, here are a few organizations we recommend supporting. We will be donating to the organizations above. #GeorgeFloyd #blacklivesmatter

A post shared by Reformation (@reformation) on May 30, 2020 at 9:32pm PDTMay 30, 2020 at 9:32pm PDT

"Now in 2020 you want to change. Not buying it," Santiago wrote in her standalone post. "You will never allow a black woman to sit at your table because then you wouldn't be able to talk the way you all love to talk. Change takes a real long time honey. You all will have to be willing to sacrifice a whole lot of your comfort if you plan on rectifying the trauma you have caused countless employees. "

Santiago's post and the comments of fellow employees have prompted thousands of Reformation consumers to speak out in support of these employees and calling for a boycott of their clothes and calling upon major retailers that sell Reformation like Nordstrom to remove the brand immediately.

"I absolutely love your clothes but I am disgusted with what has recently come to light," wrote one Instagram user. "@nordstrom please pull @reformation from your stores. We demand an entire change in leadership."

In an response from Nordstrom's official account, the department store thanked her for sharing the post and wrote that it is investigating the claims.

"Nordstrom does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and that extends to our partners," Nordstrom wrote in the comment. "We take this seriously and are looking into these claims." Representatives for Nordstrom did not respond to Business Insider's request to comment.

In Santiago's post, which has almost 60,000 likes and 3,000 comments, she wrote that she started to develop panic attacks at work after she and her Black colleagues were consistently passed over for opportunities by white women who were less qualified than her.

Today and everyday my prayers are with the family of George Floyd and all victims of police brutality and racism. I wanted to wait until after the memorial to speak on this. I am addressing this issue as a stance again companies who play a role in the systems that fail our black and brown brothers and sisters daily. This is only one example of a very large and in charge problem. Racism and prejudice is prevalent in many areas of our world. We have been made to believe we have to play along to the rules of their game in order to survive, in order to maintain our livelihood. But this is one of the countless lies they have manipulated us into believing. We all deserve better than what we have been given and it is only up to us to refuse anything less than the respect, recognition and retribution we are owed. I stand for every one of my black and brown brothers and sisters who have been denied their right to prosperity. I am proud to be apart of this fight. *this is a response to a head at Ref HQ dming me to have a conversation on my experience - see last slide @reformation @yaya_aflalo @haliborenstein #blacklivesmatter #performativeactivism #accountability

A post shared by Leslieann/LA/Elle Santiago (@energyelle) on Jun 4, 2020 at 2:04pm PDTJun 4, 2020 at 2:04pm PDT

"If you want to change Reformation, start at the head with its founder Yael," Santiago wrote in her post. "Her mentality is why the leadership table at Ref has always looked like it has and has always treated black & non-black POC the way it has. Systemic racism."

Santiago's post led Aflalo to share an apology on Reformation's official Instagram account on Sunday, and announced the company is launching an "independent investigation to look into the workplace concerns." Aflalo has since made her personal Instagram account private.

"Unfortunately, the way we have practiced diversity in the past has been through a 'White gaze' that falls too close to ignorance," Aflalo wrote. "I burn inside thinking about the sadness I inflicted. Please know that for me this was not about the color of your skin, it's about my shortcomings as a person."

I’ve failed.

A post shared by Reformation (@reformation) on Jun 7, 2020 at 5:15pm PDTJun 7, 2020 at 5:15pm PDT

If you're a Reformation employee or someone with a story to tell, contact this reporter via email at bbiron@businessinsider.com or by encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 768-4706.