West Elm and Crate & Barrel are two furniture retailers that offer distinct differences in their approach to design, sustainability, and ethical sourcing. West Elm places a strong emphasis on sustainability, with 60% of their product sales supporting at least one of their sustainability initiatives. They also champion the maker movement by investing $13.2M in small American-made businesses and collaborating with artisan collectives around the world to preserve handcraft traditions. In contrast, Crate & Barrel offers high-quality products with exclusive designs and timeless style powered by digital design tools. Both retailers offer certified products, but West Elm has a wider range of certifications including GOTS Certified, FSC Certified, OCS Certified, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, Global Recycled Standard, Recycled Claims Standard, Greenguard Gold Certified and REACH. Meanwhile, Crate & Barrel only offers FSC Certified, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, Greenguard Gold Certified and GOTS Certified products. When it comes to ethical sourcing practices for workers' rights and fair wages both companies participate in equitable labor programs such as Fair Trade USA certification for West Elm or Fifteen Percent Pledge for Crate & Barrel. However West Elm goes further by participating in the Better Cotton Initiative as well as being a member of Craftmark HERproject and Nest's Ethical Handcraft Program. West Elm also claims benefits such as handcrafted local contract grade assembled in the USA low-VOC nontoxic reclaimed recycled upcycled water-based finishes and water-efficient products while Crate & Barrel only claims to use organic cotton in some of their products. Overall both retailers have unique approaches to design but West Elm stands out for its commitment to sustainability initiatives that support local communities around the world while Crate & Barrel focuses on providing high-quality products with exclusive designs through digital design tools.