Freedom to Marry

We believe that all our employees, customers and communities should be protected equally.

We also care deeply about how marriage equality affects our staff, customers and the communities in which we live and work. In June 2011 we worked with campaign partner Freedom to Marry to fight for marriage equality.

The Campaign

Freedom to Marry was the campaign that wanted to win marriage nationwide. They worked to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination.

In June 2011, along with Freedom to Marry, we asked the U.S. Federal Government to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would effectively overturn the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA denied committed gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, and deprives them and their families the 1138 civil rights that come with federal marriage recognition.

To support Freedom to Marry’s incredible work, we created a limited edition Freedom Foamer Bubble Bar and gave 100% of the proceeds to their continued efforts for marriage equality. Our customers and community members also came out to support the Freedom to Marry. We also had Kiss and Tell demonstrations in shops across North America.

The Outcome

Our limited edition bubble bar raised $70,000 that we donated to Freedom to Marry so they could continue their amazing work, and customers signed more than 7000 postcard petitions, too!

On June 24, 2011, same-sex marriage became legal in the state of New York and came into effect one month later. And on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states can’t prohibit the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, or to deny recognition of lawfully performed out-of-state marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This ruling means that same-sex marriage bans in any U.S. state and certain territories could no longer be enforced.