Reputation Laundering? Whirlpool Working Towards A Better Future

Whirlpool, a home appliance american company, has joined the trend like many other companies, of giving back. Whirlpool since 2014 started a new philanthropy project that focuses on the improvement of kids . According to Ketchum, millions of U.S. children are less likely to graduate due to chronic absenteeism. One of the reasons is that  1 in 5 children struggle to get access to clean clothes — and school children wearing dirty clothes often report being bullied and stigmatized. Upon these insights, Whirlpool decided to set out on a journey to see how something as simple as clean laundry could affect school attendance rates . With Ketchum and DigitasLBi Whirlpool  launched the “Care Counts” program and installed washers and dryers in pilot schools.

The outcome was so impressive that it caused thousands of schools demanding Whirlpool to a roll-out the “Care Counts” across America in 2017-18. The program won a long list of Awards. Whirlpool senior brand manager Chelsey Lindstrom said “We originally set out to impact attendance rates. But what we saw was that the program impacted so much more. When we all care about cooking, cleaning and washing, every day, we believe we can change the world.” In the midst of Covid-19 Pandemic,  in March 2020 Whirlpool kicked off #ChoreClub: social contents giving parents tips and suggesting activities helping children in their quarantine routines. This campaign serves as a supplement to Whirlpool’s existing campaign “Every Day, Care”, a project launched in 2014 intended to prove the value and impact of the many different facets and perspectives of care. Throughout the years Whirlpool has shown determination to improve their product, their company, and our environment. In 2018 Whirlpool was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Whirlpool received the first ENERGY STAR® certified clothes dryer after receiving certification from the US Environmental protection Agency’s in June 2014. Whirlpool launched the first refrigerator water filter recycling program as a responsible alternative to throwing out their used refrigerator water filters in September 2014. Whirlpool imagined smart homes with a conscience at the Consumer Electronics Show to fully connect home ecosystems in January 2015.

Is All Clean About Whirlpool?

On Ethical Consumer, Whirlpool is a “Company to avoid: A faulty line of Whirlpool tumble dryers caused several serious household fires, so we would recommend steering clear of Whirlpool Corporation which owns the following brands: KitchenAid Hotpoint Maytag”

What is this concern about? 

It comes after two men were killed in a fire.  The investigation held Whirlpool’s faulty dryers responsible for the death of the two men in 2014. The firm responded offering owners of identified risky models free repairs or a $50-dollar replacement machine. When the initial issues began they told customers to not leave the machine on and alone but soon after they told everyone to unplug it until it was repaired. This event has caused people to call on both the company and the government to step up on safety. Five  years later the disaster the firm has been informed the Government intends to serve a recall notice over concerns that an estimated 500,000 unmodified tumble dryers still  pose a potential fire risk  in 2019 In 2010 a dishwasher fire destroyed a KitchenAid model. When Whirlpool, which made the dishwasher, refused to investigate or to refund the cost of his ruined appliance, the owner became the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the company. In 2016 Whirlpool agreed to a bargain that could benefit past or present owners of KitchenAid, Whirlpool, and Kenmore dishwashers. Unfortunately the faulty machinery incidents did go against their mission statement of earning trust every day since their product was setting blazes in British homes and their warning statements were not issued instantly. Whirlpool’s vision is to ptovide “The best branded consumer products…in every home around the world”, consumers in the UK still might have a different vision.

Man on fire! 

Whirlpool as a corporation has a decent amount of talk internally. Job sharing sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor allow employees and ex-employees of companies to share what they liked and didn’t like about their employment at previous or current jobs. On these sites there were several comments and posts about being discriminated within whirlpool. Although these sources are not the most reliable sources, few of these cases did end up making it to court The most recent one is a suit alleging that an African-American man faced racial taunts and derogatory comments by co-workers and leaders at the plant for a year and even if he tried several times to report the incidents to corporate offices, all were ignored. and finally he was fired without explanation and replaced by a white employee. The lawsuit was dismissed in September, 2019, by a federal judge after the two parties reached an undisclosed settlement. This case follows a more ‘infamous’ one in 2009, when  the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed  a suit against Whirlpool in race and  sex discrimination on behalf of an African American  former employee harassed for 2 months before she was assaulted by a male coworker.  Managers were  aware of the escalating harassment and Whirlpool failed to take effective steps to stop it. She ended up winning with a  final court judgment of more then 1 milion dollar against the corporation

Earth is also on fire

In October 2019 Whirlpool EMEA, together with LifeGate, launched during the Milan Green Week the Seabin project. Seabind project involved 13 innovative “sea baskets” installed in the waters of Italian ports and yacht clubs. In about one year, 1.500 kg of floating waste was collected, a insignificant amount publicized as a great success according to Fridays For Future: “A further attempt (very clumsy) to be accredited as a responsible company in the collective imagination of its potential customers”. This accusation follows Whirlpool’s announcement in May that production of high-end washing machines in Naples was no longer profitable and that it intended to sell the factory. The factory that employs 450 workers in a region with some of the highest unemployment levels in Italy. The italian government granted Whirlpool 50 million Euros since 2014, with intent to have the company continue investing in Italy. .

In conclusion, Whirlpool is intending to demonstrate via their ‘CARE’ campaigns that it is improving our future by empowering children and their parents. Also, that it is cleaning our oceans. However, the most important thing is that these programs should not be used to draw attention away from “unfriendly activities”such as Whirlpool’s US sexual harassment and racism, UK machine fires, and Italian massive layoffs.

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