The following statement of ethics has been determined by the Racked editorial team, and all employees and freelancers have agreed to abide by it.
PURPOSE
Racked covers shopping, but we are not in the business of selling products. We aim to provide a comprehensive, honest look at the fashion landscape, both on the local and national level. Editorial content on Racked is based on our editorial judgement, not on the desire of any company, advertiser, or PR firm.
LISTINGS AND REVIEWS
Racked often lists sales and shopping events, but we do not profit from these events or accept payment to promote them editorially. We do not accept payment for reviews, and we will not exchange coverage in return for products or VIP access.
Our editors do sometimes accept early access to sales and events in order to facilitate coverage. This does not impact our editorial choices, and if we feel that our ability to report accurately is impeded by such treatment (i.e. if we're allowed into a sample sale before it fills up with people), we will return when the event opens to the public in order to assess it from a reader's perspective.
DISCLOSURES
Any free item or experience accepted by a writer in the course of reporting must be approved by an editor and disclosed on the site. As an example, if a writer is covering an expensive beauty treatment that has been comped by the brand, the resulting story must note than the treatment was free.
ADVERTISING
We have advertisers on our site, and they are our main source of revenue. Our company has its own advertising team responsible for selling ad space on our site. We do not accept money or other consideration from companies as a condition or incentive to write a review or story, whether favorable or unfavorable, on Racked. Any feature or area on Racked sponsored by a particular company or advertiser is developed independently by the Vox Creative and Sales teams and is clearly marked as an advertisement.
PERSONAL CONFLICTS
Any employee of Racked who has a spouse, partner, or other close relationship with an employee of a company which Racked covers will disclose the relationship on the site. When a Racked contributor has affiliations of prior employment experience that would represent a material conflict of interest with their reporting, that information will be disclosed in context or footnotes of that piece.
CORRECTIONS
Racked makes every effort for stories to be completely accurate upon publication. Inaccurate stories will be corrected but not removed.
SOURCES
Racked obtains news and content from a variety of sources. Some of our sources do not wish to be named, and our policy is to honor such requests and keep these sources anonymous without exception. Please note that as general policy, we do not provide compensation for tips.
PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCES
Our editors and news writers are often asked to appear in a professional capacity as experts on various television, news, radio, or other media. These appearances do not constitute endorsement of any products, companies, or services discussed.
OTHER EMPLOYMENT
Employees of Racked may not be otherwise employed by or receive compensation from stores and companies that they are likely to cover as part of their news beat, nor are they permitted to have any advisory role (paid or unpaid) at those companies.
GIVEAWAYS
From time to time, Racked will conduct contests and giveaways for readers on the site. We will post rules for each contest, which will be binding on contestants who decide to participate. Giveaways of products are not, and should never be considered, endorsements of the companies involved or their products.
