Target launched a myriad of beauty products delivered by and for multicultural women on Tuesday.
The retail giant was featuring more than 150 exclusive items that celebrate melanin magic on its website, with the products coming to its stores starting May 20. Shoppers will be able to support eight new cosmetic brands founded by women of color: Coloured Raine, EveryHue, Haleys, Hue Noir, The Lip Bar, Makeup Geek, Reina Rebelde and Violet Voss.
The launch is seminal for Target, considering that the retail giant has made a commitment to catering to women of color who have been previously overlooked by the cosmetics industry. Black buying power is so strong: African-American consumers spend nearly nine times more than other racial groups on hair and beauty products, according to Nielsen.
However, the brand’s endeavor has come on the heels of its recent $3.7 million settlement in a racial discrimination lawsuit. The retailer was accused of using a criminal background screening policy that was biased against Blacks and Latinos. The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund filed suit against Target, a move that raised a lot of questions about prejudice and racism within the retail giant’s workforce.
It may be hard to not look at Target’s newest beauty initiative without weighing this reported history of racial employment discrimination. Target has a great chance to go beyond catering to women of color as customers and actually create systemic change and multicultural representation, from its store aisles to its executive suites. And with recent discrimination cases having rocked other brands such as H&M and Starbucks, the time is ripe to say yes to racial diversity.
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Can Target’s Black Beauty Products Launch Help Spur Racial Diversity Among Its Workforce? was originally published on newsone.com
