Nondiscrimination Policy

Last updated: April 14th, 2021

Carrots is, at its core, an open community dedicated to bringing local sustainable foods to the foreground as a viable alternative to grocery store shopping. Carrots is a diverse community, drawing together individuals of different cultures, values, and norms.

The Carrots community is committed to building a world where people from every background feel welcome and respected. This commitment rests on two foundational principles that apply both to Carrots’ Farmers and Shoppers: inclusion and respect. Our shared commitment to these principles enables all members of our community to feel welcome on the Carrots platform no matter who they are, where they come from, how they worship, or whom they love. Carrots recognizes that some jurisdictions permit, or require, distinctions among individuals based on factors such as national origin, gender, marital status or sexual orientation, and it does not require Farmers to violate local laws or take actions that may subject them to legal liability. Carrots will provide additional guidance and adjust this nondiscrimination policy to reflect such permissions and requirements in the jurisdictions where they exist.

While we do not believe that one company can mandate harmony among all people, we do believe that the Carrots community can promote empathy and understanding across all cultures. We are all committed to doing everything we can to help eliminate all forms of unlawful bias, discrimination, and intolerance from our platform. We want to promote a culture within the Carrots community—Farmers, Shoppers and people just considering whether to use our platform—that goes above and beyond mere compliance. To that end, all of us, Carrots employees, Farmers and Shoppers alike, agree to read and act in accordance with the following policy to strengthen our community and realize our mission of ensuring that everyone can belong, and feels welcome on our platform.

  • Inclusion – We welcome people of all backgrounds with authentic hospitality and open minds. Joining Carrots, as a Farmer or Shopper, means becoming part of a community of inclusion. Bias, prejudice, racism, and hatred have no place on our platform or in our community. While Farmers are required to follow all applicable laws that prohibit discrimination based on such factors as race, religion, national origin, and others listed below, we commit to do more than comply with the minimum requirements established by law.
  • Respect – We are respectful of each other in our interactions and encounters. Carrots appreciates that local laws and cultural norms vary and expects Farmers and Shoppers to abide by local laws, and to engage with each other respectfully, even when views may not reflect their beliefs or upbringings. Carrots’ members bring to our community an incredible diversity of background experiences, beliefs, and customs. By connecting people from different backgrounds, Carrots fosters greater understanding and appreciation for the common characteristics shared by all human beings and undermines prejudice rooted in misconception, misinformation, or misunderstanding.

Specific Guidance for Farmers in the United States.

Farmers should contact Carrots customer service if they have any questions about their obligations to comply with this Carrots Nondiscrimination Policy. Carrots will release further discrimination policy guidance for jurisdictions outside the United States in the near future. Guided by these principles, our U.S. community will follow these rules when engaging with each other on the Carrots Platform:

Race, Color, Ethnicity, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, or Marital Status

  • Carrots Farmers may not:
    • Decline a Purchase based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
    • Impose any different terms or conditions based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
    • Post any Product listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any Shopper on account of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

Gender Identity

Carrots does not assign a gender identity to our users. We consider the gender of individuals to be what they identify and/or designate on their user profiles, and we expect our Carrots community to do the same. This includes respecting the pronouns (he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.) any users within the community identify themselves with.

  • Carrots Farmers may not:
    • Decline a Purchase or recurring delivery from a Shopper based on gender identity.
    • Impose any different terms or conditions based on gender.
    • Post any Product listing or make any statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any Shopper on account of gender.

Age and Familial Status

  • Carrots Farmers may not:
    • Impose any different terms or conditions or decline an order based on the Shopper’s age or familial status, where prohibited by law.

Disability

  • Carrots Farmers may not:
    • Decline an order or recurring delivery based on any actual or perceived disability.
    • Impose any different terms or conditions based on the fact that the Shopper has a disability.
    • Inquire about the existence or severity of a Shopper’s disability, or the means used to accommodate any disability.
    • Charge more in fees for Shoppers with disabilities.
    •  Statement that discourages or indicates a preference for or against any Shopper on account of the fact that the Shopper has a disability.
    • Refuse to communicate with Shoppers through accessible means that are available, including relay operators (for people with hearing impairments) and e-mail (for people with vision impairments using screen readers).
    • Refuse to provide reasonable accommodations, including flexibility when Shoppers with disabilities request modest changes in your pickup rules, such as bringing an assistance animal that is necessary. When a Shopper requests such an accommodation, the Farmer and the Shopper should engage in a dialogue to explore mutually agreeable ways to ensure the pickup location meets the Shopper’s needs.
  • Carrots Farmers may:
    • Provide factually accurate information about the pickup location’s accessibility features (or lack of them), allowing for Shoppers with disabilities to assess for themselves whether the pickup location is appropriate to their individual needs.

What happens when a Farmer does not comply with our policies in this area?

If a particular Product listing contains language contrary to this nondiscrimination policy, the Farmer will be asked to remove the language and affirm his or her understanding and intent to comply with this policy and its underlying principles. Carrots may also, in its discretion, take steps up to and including suspending the Farmer from the Carrots platform.

If the Farmer improperly rejects Shoppers on the basis of protected class, or uses language demonstrating that his or her actions were motivated by factors prohibited by this policy, Carrots will take steps to enforce this policy, up to and including suspending the Farmer from the platform.

As the Carrots community grows, we will continue to ensure that Carrots’ policies and practices align with our most important goal: To ensure that Shoppers and Farmers feel welcome and respected in all of their interactions using the Carrots platform. The public, our community, and we ourselves, expect no less than this.