As demands for racial equality and accountability restructure police departments and workplaces, Sephora’s U.S. division announced on Wednesday that it would dedicate 15% of its shelf space to black-owned brands, becoming the first retailer to accept the 15 Percent Pledge challenge, which was created by Aurora James to push major retailers to commit more than just a statement to black business owners.
KEY FACTS
The 15 Percent Pledge is an internet campaign started by James, a creative director in Brooklyn, that asks companies to assess the diversity of the makers of their merchandise and commit a share of at least 15 percent to black-owned brands.
James told The New York Times she had the idea for the pledge on May 29, a few days after George Floyd’s death, while wondering to herself whether the brands posting statements of solidarity were actually supporting black Americans.
She posted a photo on Instagram challenging Target, Sephora, Whole Foods, and Shopbop to put $15.5 billion back into black communities through the pledge.
Sephora announced it would join James’s 15 Percent Pledge in a Wednesday tweet, saying it will create an advisory group with James and other black beauty leaders in addition to putting more black-owned brands in stores.
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Artemis Patrick, the chief merchandising officer of Sephora, said the move was about “diversifying our supply chain and building a system that creates a better platform for Black-owned brands to grow while ensuring Black voices help shape our industry.”
Though Sephora was the first, it likely won’t be the last retailer to accept James’s challenge as two weeks of Black Lives Matters protests across the U.S. have directed attention toward black-owned businesses and called for greater support from major companies.
KEY NUMBER
James chose 15% because she said 15% of the U.S. population is black, though the U.S. Census Bureau put the number at 13.4% in 2019.
KEY BACKGROUND
Over the past two weeks, large, public-facing companies have been pushed to take a stance regarding the protests for increased racial equality in the U.S. Multiple CEOs and leaders have lost their jobs because of lukewarm or offensive responses, and workers at a number of companies have rallied to demand stronger action from their employers. Social media has enabled employees and the general public to put pressure on companies, which seems to be yielding monetary and structural results in favor of diversity and accountability. A Financial Times review of statements from U.S. companies estimates over $450 million in pledges have been made to groups focused on social and racial justice.
