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In 2020, Aurora James shook up the business world with a disruptive idea. As previously reported by AfroTech, the designer founded the Fifteen Percent Pledge following the murder of George Floyd to demand corporations to commit 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Now, nearly three years later, it appears that James’ call for action has paid off.
Victoria’s Secret is looking to make a change. The renowned company — known for its focus on fashion-inspired intimates, lingerie, casual sleepwear, athleisure, body care, and beyond — has just joined other organizations focused on championing Black suppliers. According to Bloomberg, the lingerie giant has made a commitment to not only increase the amount of business they’re conducting with Black-owned firms but also promote more Black workers. Through the Fifteen Percent Pledge, they will work to gather data and pinpoint a system that aims to reach a point where at least 15 percent of its suppliers are Black-owned firms. This amount will bump the number from one percent to around two percent.
The digital landscape continues to evolve with new innovative ways of marketing, advertising and branding for businesses. While Black business owners’ imitable creativity marks them as trendsetters in their respective markets, lack of access to essential digital tools keeps them a few steps behind when it comes to their businesses’ online presence. To improve that, the Fifteen Percent Pledge and Google Shopping have recently joined forces for a two-year partnership to help place Black entrepreneurs ahead of the curve. The Fifteen Percent Pledge, founded by fashion designer Aurora James in June 2020, is a nonprofit that pushes for major retailers to pledge 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. As Google Shopping is committed to Black businesses within its own company mission, the tech giant is now backing the organization in its Business Equity Community — an online, networking platform that will provide Black business owners access to digital tools, training and...
Elaine Welteroth is more than a triple threat. She has stacked up an impressive work portfolio, which includes becoming a New York Times best-selling author, serving as a judge on Bravo’s hit show “Project Runway” and also as the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. On top of her impressive arsenal of business ventures, Welteroth is intentional about using her platform to help others. During her time at Teen Vogue, diversity and social justice were pushed to the forefront of the outlet’s coverage, and she also created the 15 Percent Pledge encouraging major retailers to commit 15 percent of their buying power to funding Black-owned businesses. Now, Elaine Welteroth is continuing her commitment to help the BIPOC community in a new arena by partnering with investment platform Public , which AfroTech previously told you has an online community bolstering one million users with a demographic of 40 percent women and 45 percent BIPOC. The partnership will lead the future generation...
StockX is prepping to go public next year, and ahead of the announcement, it’s building up its board of directors. Business Insider reports that the online retail marketplace has appointed former TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot as its first female director to its board. In addition, she will continue to serve on the boards for HP Inc., Nordstrom, weight loss app, Noom, and act as a founding member of the SB Opportunity Fund — an investment firm focused on backing founders and entrepreneurs of color. According to Insider, Brown-Philpot’s pride as a Detroit native is what encouraged her to join StockX’s board. “I’ve been following StockX for a long time because I’m from Detroit and this is one of the most successful companies to be started out of my hometown,” she tells the outlet exclusively. With her years of expertise in consumer marketplaces, StockX CEO Scott Cutler is confident that Brown-Philpot’s dedication to creating opportunities for diverse communities will help bring a...
Iconic 90s fashion brand Cross Colours has made its way to Nordstrom NYC to launch a one-of-a-kind immersive shopping experience for one of the world’s greatest brands. According to a press release, the brand has announced a two-week exhibition pop-up shop at the major retailer’s New York-based flagship shop as part of Nordstrom’s revolving Center Stage platform — known for featuring some of the most prominent brands from around the world. “Nordstrom is giving the brand one of the greatest platforms in the history of Cross Colours,” co-founder Carl Jones said in a statement. “This launch will be the first time we have the opportunity to showcase our full collection in one place – the fleece, the denim – and in the way that we would like to present it to our customers. We have an opportunity to create a true Cross Colours experience for our customers. For us, that’s everything.” The temporary installation displays both the past and present stages of the brand along with its core...
Nordstrom is joining the 15 Percent Pledge train with its own unique commitment to better support Black-owned businesses. According to Good Morning America, Nordstrom is the first major retailer to form a 10-year commitment in agreeance with the 15 Percent Pledge’s mission — the nonprofit which strives to holds large corporations accountable when it comes to supporting Black-owned brands. As part of its new pledge, Nordstrom has also announced plans to increase its purchases and partnerships with Black-owned or founded retailers by the end of 2030. “Long-term societal change cannot happen overnight and we’re in this for the long haul,” is what president and chief brand officer Peter Nordstrom said in a statement. “Nordstrom has established new goals and benchmarks to help it become a more diverse, inclusive and anti-racist organization,” 15 Percent Pledge adds, “and has made strides towards these goals through notable product launches and curations.” View this post on Instagram ...
Last year, Sephora committed a 15 percent pledge alongside founder Aurora James in an effort to show their support for Black-owned beauty brands on the market. Now the beauty retailer is recommitting its vow to honor these brands be reintroducing its 2021 Accelerate incubator program with a renewed focus, which for the first time ever features a cohort comprised exclusively of founders of color, a press release shares. Now in the program’s sixth year, Sephora is dedicated to evolving its business incubator — which previously focused on cultivating an international community of female beauty founders while supporting the launch of more than 50 women-owned brands — to reflect its recent commitment of increasing Black and people of color representation on Sephora store shelves. “Last year, we made a commitment to dedicate fifteen percent of Sephora’s assortment to Black-owned brands, and we quickly realized the role that our Accelerate program could play in not only helping us to...
Yelp isn’t just connecting people with local businesses, but they’re equipping Black-owned banks with the funds needed to support the communities they serve. On Dec. 15, the company announced it has deposited $10 million of its cash reserves into minority-owned financial institutions that support Black and underserved communities. Those institutions include Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company (Citizens Savings Bank), Broadway Federal Bank (Broadway), and Carver Federal Savings Bank (Carver). According to The Wall Street Journal, 15 years ago America had 36 Black-owned banks. Today government data shows this number has decreased to only 18. “We recognize that the distribution of financial capital is not equitable in the United States, particularly in Black communities, and we know we have a role to play to support a more equitable financial system,” said Yelp’s Chief Financial Officer, David Schwarzbach. “We’re committed to making financial capital available to low-and...
In light of recent events, Band-Aid is launching a new line of bandages that reflect shades for darker skin tones. “We stand in solidarity with our Black colleagues, collaborators and community in the fight against racism, violence and injustice,” Band-Aid announced on Instagram. “We are committed to launching a range of bandages in light, medium and deep shades of Brown and Black skin tones that embrace the beauty of diverse skin.” In addition to their inclusive line of products, Band-Aid says it will make a $100,000 donation to the Black Lives Matter movement, reports CNN. While the brand believes it’s doing the just (and obviously right) thing, they were swiftly met with criticism. Many social media users pointed to the Johnson & Johnson brand’s lack of inclusivity, which should’ve taken place 100 years sooner. They also noted the businesses that already offer adhesive bandages for Black and Brown people, Black-owned Browndages and Tru-Colour. Too late!!!! I’m not buying these...