Cosmetics Design: Is the ‘mainstream’ beauty industry nally making space for Black-owned businesses?

The murder of George Floyd, this past May 25, sparked a renewed and global movement for racial justice. As a result, evermore government and business leaders as well as inuencers, consumers, and working-class people are speaking up and taking action to aect meaningful change in society. The same is true within the cosmetics and personal care industry.

Lists of Black-owned brands and corporate pledges to increase diversity have become plentiful since the demonstrations for racial justice began and even more so to coincide with Juneteenth this past Friday.

Sharon Chuter’s leading role in the Pull Up for Change movement and the work that is happening and needs to happen in the cosmetics and personal care industry are nicely explained in this recent Vox article by Cheryl Wischhover.

Here, Cosmetics Design shares a selection of beauty industry news meant to add further context and insight to what should turn out to be a pivotal moment in history for this country, this industry, and the world.


Spotlight shines on Black-owned beauty businesses

It’s a sentiment that seems to be shared quite widely. On Juneteenth, Beyoncé made headline with the launch of Black Parade Route, an online directory of Black-owned businesses across industries. And that same day, indie beauty brand founder Joy Ekhator (pictured here) launched Black & Luxe, a directory or Black-owned beauty, skin care, and wellness brands.

Cosmetics Design readers may know Ekhator and her brand Lovinah from this interview she gave at Cosmoprof North America just last year. “I am still working on my own brand,” says Ekhator, “but l also wanted a way to better use my platform to showcase other black-owned brands in the beauty and wellness space.”

“With so many online lists oating around,” Ekhator tells Cosmetics Design, “l wanted to create a black-owned directory so that black brands will have one place, one list, one space to connect and network.” Her new site includes not only Black-owned beauty and wellness brands but also Black content creators too.
“Right now,” says Ekhator, Black & Luxe “is just a sacred place to store black-owned businesses. It is my contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement. We hope to open up brand advertisement and a marketplace to shop blackowned beauty and wellness products in the coming weeks.”

Already the Black & Luxe beauty and wellness directory includes over 700 brands from all around the world.

Additional “brands,” Ekhator tells Cosmetics Design, “can directly add themselves to the site by clicking on the add your brand link or send us an email to be added.” And she welcomes additions from industry insiders and brand fans as well.

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