ETHICS IS HIS BUSINESS

WeWork’s infamous expansion spree, culminating in bankruptcy, was a public debacle. Caleb Poling saw it firsthand. As a procurement lead at the real estate company, he helped source building materials and furniture for its locations.

Knowledge sharing inspired Poling to mentor FIT’s Fashion Scholarship Fund recipients. “The next generation has a lot of interesting ideas, so I don’t see it as something where I’m just giving,” he says. “Don’t take the lessons you’ve learned for granted—share them.”

He joined about two years before the company went public. Though it was chaotic, “it was when WeWork needed procurement the most,” Poling says. During a growth period, it’s especially important to make sure the space design and experience remain consistent while keeping an eye on costs. However, the entire procurement division was eventually let go. 

Previously, Poling had worked in retail strategy; he saw procurement as a challenging pivot to his career. “You have to have a good understanding of design—whether it’s a clothing product or a physical space,” he says, “but you also have to be organized and responsible, and act as a translator for both design and finance teams.”

Regardless of industry, Poling says, procurement involves collaborating across a company on design and construction projects. A large part of it is requesting and reviewing proposals from vendors and securing materials needed to complete these projects.

A good procurement team also maintains a diverse network of ethical suppliers. This is essential for Poling now, at his current job in sustainable sourcing and store planning for Louis Vuitton, where he has the opportunity to “keep making ethics part of the conversation and use our influence to set the sustainability standard.”

Some of Louis Vuitton’s store design elements in Paris.

LVMH has a strict code of ethics, which covers environmental, social, and governance standards. “It’s not just about a material being able to be recycled, it’s how it was sourced, who made it, and the conditions for the person who made it,” he says. Both suppliers and subcontractors must adhere to this code.

One of Poling’s main responsibilities is ensuring all the wood for the stores is sustainably sourced, and there are exciting changes in the works. Next year, the company is switching to wood flooring that’s 100% FSC-certified—meaning it adheres to the Forest Stewardship Council’s rigorous ecological and social standards. “You won’t notice an aesthetic difference when you go into a store, but the materials will be more sustainable,” he says.Poling recently earned LVMH’s Gold Certification in sustainability, requiring 60 hours of total training, including visits to sustainable suppliers. This certification has helped him explore and champion more innovative solutions at work, “whether it’s considering mushroom leather or a new way to cut waste,” he says. —Vanessa Machir