eBay fashion lead on LGBTQ+ inclusion and sustainability

myGwork spoke to Robert Williams, team lead for fashion at eBay, about the fashion industry, LGBTQ+ inclusion at work, and the importance of inclusion and sustainability for the sector.

Robert Williams’ professional life reads like a fashion catalogue. Studying at St Martins College of Art and Design in fashion design and printed textiles, Robert would soon find himself jetting off between New York, London, Dublin, Sydney, and Berlin as he worked for some of the most recognisable names in fashion. From Topman to Harvey Nichols, Zalando to JD Sport, he began in textile design before migrating to the buying department. Now, he focuses on brand outlet and imperfects products at eBay, where he is a team lead for fashion. As Robert points out, just because a garment may be damaged – missing buttons, or maybe a scratch – it doesn’t mean it can’t still be sold on eBay, rather than destroyed or sent to landfill. “We’re supporting the circular economy and sustainability in fashion,” he adds.

In addition to his day job, Robert is Chair of eBay’s United in Pride employee community of inclusion. “The main thing is to educate and drive continual learning, with a focus on intersectionality. We do that through training throughout the year, such as the one we’re delivering on pronouns, gender, and identity.”

Celebrating Pride

The network ensures that key days for the LGBTQ+ community are in the calendar, supported by education and information to mark them. The network also celebrates Pride and use their resources to advocate for policy changes across the company to better support LGBTQ+ staff. “At the moment, we’re in the process of writing a gender identity and expression policy for eBay, which is making sure that colleagues who may wish to transition or affirm their gender, are supported within the company here.”

United in Pride’s focus this year is supporting the trans community, with their new transitioning policy soon to launch globally across the company. In addition, on June 28, the network is hosting a fireside chat with trans model and activist Munroe Bergdorf ahead of a Rainbow Party. This will cover Munroe’s story, but also how fashion for all sits at the heart of eBay – regardless of style, size, identity, or gender.

Importance of inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are important for all businesses, Robert believes, especially fashion. To reflect your market audience, your workplace needs to be as diverse as the audience is.

“If you tend to hire the same people all the time, creativity dies, and business goes stale. You need to build diversity into a company’s DNA, led by management from a top-down approach.”

United in Pride operates across the company in localised chapters, which meet fortnightly to ensure that any policy changes being proposed in one market for the business are being proposed elsewhere, to ensure progress is consistent across the board. Robert is also keen to stress that there must be a “constant drumbeat” throughout the year – being LGBTQ+ doesn’t just stop at the end of Pride Month, and businesses need to ensure that they are constantly, year-round supporting their LGBTQ+ staff and the wider community.

Building a sustainable model

Robert is a strong believer that the fashion industry needs to be fair and inclusive – and this sentiment is equally important when looking at the industry’s environmental impact. With the rise in fast fashion, it’s an industry that has come under fire for poorly treated garment workers and high environmental costs. This is why circular fashion must be a priority, and spaces such as eBay, where people can find and sell pre-loved items are a vital part of building a sustainable industry model. Second-hand, pre-loved and upcycled pieces break the chain of a constant flux of new items and stops landfills filling up with clothing that still has many lives left in them. eBay are proving that circular fashion is fashionable, and is a major part of the future of fashion.

“People are now starting to recognise the damage that fast fashion is doing to the environment and trying to tackle waste created in fashion.” Through working with younger people – who Robert says are showing more and more interest in circular fashion – and partnering with shows like Love Island, eBay hope to inspire a culture of sustainability across the population that makes people think twice on how they consume fashion.

Need for more equality

Looking to the long-term, Robert wants to see more equality around the globe for people, across all cultures and communities. Robert can remember protesting outside Parliament to lower the age of consent for LGBTQ+ people to 18, down from 21; this later was reduced to 16 in line with the age of consent for straight people, which Robert sees as a testament to how progress can be made even when it seems difficult. Recalling his experiences growing up, he notes how you “Couldn’t really promote yourself being gay in the workplace.” Now, he heads a team, and feels privileged to do so, because of how much things have changed.

The transformation has been remarkable. Growing up, Robert couldn’t fathom living outside of a bustling capital city due to his experiences in Chester. There, he was Catholic, enduring school bullying due to perceived homosexuality, all amidst the unfolding HIV epidemic of the 80s. Now in his 50th year, having lived in various cities worldwide, he has returned to Chester with his partner Tim and their two dogs. Robert is dedicated to advancing the progress he’s witnessed in his own life, both within the realm of fashion and beyond, ensuring it endures for future generations.

eBay is a partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ Business Community. You can check out its job opportunities here.