Black-Business Matters
Can you name three blacked-owned businesses besides the celebrity-owned ones? If not, don’t feel bad. Black-owned businesses receive proportionately less finance and publicity than white-owned counterparts. Consequently, we tend to be less aware of such businesses unless owned by famous celebrities, the likes of Oprah, Rihanna, Heron Preston, and Beyonce. The fact is there are close to 3 million black or African-American owned firms in the USA alone. Yet, many of us are not familiar with most of such businesses.
How to support Black-owned businesses
The response to the police killing of George Flyd in the US has ignited the Black Lives Matter movement and called for international protests. Besides donations and social media posts, I thought to myself “what else can I do to make a genuine difference?” Since I belong to an ethnic minority, I as well have experienced discrimination during my corporate career and as a small business owner. And I can assure you that the best way to show support for minority and blacked-owned businesses is by shopping from them. It is a single way to grow a business and achieve racial and wealth equality. In recent weeks I spent some time searching and learning more about black-owned companies to become a more conscientious buyer and a better supporter. If you want to become a black-business ally, take a look at my list for a small sample of brands you can support now and always.
Fashion
Lemlem
Lemlem is an artisan fashion brand made in Africa which partners with local artisans and collectives that use traditional handweaving using white cotton to create the beautiful, modern beachwear designs that lemlem is known for.
Fini Shoes
Fini Shoes is innovative footwear engineered and designed for maximum comfort and durability without forgoing the luxury aesthetic. The unique element Fini is proud of is the never seen before customization elements. You can fully customize the shoes with multiple add-ons through a seamless and minimal zipper concept.
Liberte
Liberte is a modern lingerie brand for the modern woman designed in NY from the most beautiful Italian fabrics. The label blends the traditional craft of early lingerie artistry with cutting edge natural and tech fabrics while placing importance on the human touch and personalization.
Sincerely Tommy
Sincerely Tommy is a lifestyle black-owned business based in Brooklyn focussed on emerging womenswear, lifestyle brands, and communities.
Christopher John Rogers
Christopher John Rogers is the winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. Besides dressing the former first lady, Michelle Obama, Christopher creates emotional & sensitive clothing with a focus on occasion dressing, directed towards a client with a strong sense of self.
Cushnie
Cushnie is a luxury ready-to-wear label designed for the modern woman. Carly Cushnie designs clothes that achieve the perfect fit for the female form through the artful balance of proportion, structure, and fluidity. Cushnie has dressed some of the most influential women of our time, including Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, and Jennifer Lopez, among many others.
Pyer Moss
Pyer Moss is described as a timely social experiment. It is the label of the rising New York-based designer Kerby Jean-Raymond, recognized for his pioneering approach to fashion that fuses the personal and the political.
Beauty
Many black-owned businesses also specialize in beauty and skincare products. Their journeys started by developing products for Black women and eventually grew their portfolio to help women of all races find beauty and skincare solutions.
Alaffia
Founded in 2003, Alaffia is a social enterprise that redefines the natural products industry through its values of Beauty, Equality and Empowerment, fair trade, and safe hair, face and body care. Check out their handwoven basket bags!
Coloured Raine
Coloured Raine, founded in 2013, is a cruelty-free cosmetics made in the USA. The brand helps promote awareness of diversity through beauty and embraces all aspects of color through unity.
Bolden
Bolden is committed to helping to shape a global conversation about inclusive standards of beauty — where women everywhere feel empowered to celebrate the natural beauty of their skin.
Camille Rose
Camille Rose is a renowned label founded by a mother of 5 children and a vegan. Her journey into natural hair and skincare products started in her kitchen while passionately developing solutions for her children’s severe Eczema. Now the brand boast over 30 hand-crafted product ranges and sold in thousands of stores nationwide.
Healthy food
Black-owned businesses understand the need for healthy meal options for busy women and men in North America. Here’s a list of businesses that offer healthy food options you can find in many health stores or online.
Movita Organics
Movita is certified organic, gluten, and allergen-free supplement for women. This multivitamin contains up to 60 times more nutrient natural ingredients than an average vitamin. With its patented-fermentation process, Movita allows the slow release of nutrients, making it easier to digest and absorb vitamins and minerals.
Pipsnacks
Pipsnacks is a women-owned family business based in NY. Pipsnack produces popcorn products using heirloom corn, which has a distinctly delicious flavor and a satisfying crunch. The company was born in 2012 and it was featured as one of Oprah’s favourite things. It soon became widely available at Whole Food stores across North America.
A Dozen Cousins
Traditional Black and Latino recipes are the inspiration behind A Dozen Cousins products. With the mission to help families live a healthier lifestyle, the company uses wholesome, easy-to-recognize ingredients like beans, vegetables and avocado oil while avoiding GMO’s and artificial flavors.
Golde
Golde is a superfood health and beauty brand based in Brooklyn, NY. The founder Mouzon Wofford became the youngest woman of color to ever launch a brand at Sephora in 2019. She launched her business in 2017 without the help of investors and now sells matcha and cacao flavors, as well as sachet sets with individual packets, at retailers including Urban Outfitters and Goop.
Partakefoods
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBidGCxhIYf/
Denise Woodard started making allergy-free healthy snacks for her daughter, who suffers from severe allergies. Partake Foods is the fruit of Denise’s hard work over the years to find suitable snacks the whole family can enjoy. Partake cookies are made with ancient grains, fruits, and vegetables and contain 20–30% less sugar than the other gluten-free and vegan cookies on the market.
Jewelry
If you love jewelry like I do, consider shopping from these emerging Black-owned businesses and US designers. You’d be delighted to know that some of our favourite style icons wear these names.
Diaboli Kill
Diaboli Kill is edgy and sultry jewelry that combines the mysticism of Ancient Egypt and the Art Deco of the modern era. Founded by a New York-born, Egyptian-Dominican designer Angie Merei, Diaboli Kill is an exquisite collection of jewelry for the edgy and playful women who dare to be different.
Valencia Key
Valencia Key’s creations are hand-sketched, reflecting desires for joy, love, shining bright, dreaming big, and continuous rebirth living life to one’s fullest potential. Valencia Key affordable jewelry collection is available online as well as QVC channel.
BYCHARI, established in 2012, is effortless, unique, and modern jewelry handmade for women who appreciate simplicity yet demand luxury. BYCHARI is worn by women who define what style is today, including Kate Hudson, Chiara Ferragni, Aimee Song and Rocky Barnes.
Originally published at https://ellemuse.com on July 3, 2020.
