15 Percent Pledge

The 15 Percent Pledge is a US-based non-profit organization that encourages retailers to pledge at least 15 percent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses. The foundation conducts audits, shares its database of Black-owned businesses, and offers business development strategies to participating companies. It was established in 2020 by Aurora James after she created the 15 Percent Pledge initiative on Instagram, following the murder of George Floyd.[1]

15 Percent Pledge
Formation2020 (2020)
FounderAurora James
TypeNonprofit organization
HeadquartersNew York City, U.S.
Chairperson
Emma Grede
Key people
Aurora James (CEO)
LaToya Williams-Belfort (Executive Director)
Staff
16
Websitewww.15percentpledge.org

History

The murder of George Floyd sparked a wave of activism for the Black Lives Matter movement that renewed calls for social justice reform and the end of systemic racism, and included declarations of support from various corporations;[2][3] according to TIME Magazine, James wanted to "find a way that companies could make a tangible change," and "from there, the 15 Percent Pledge was born."[4]

James launched the initiative called the 15 Percent Pledge[5] with an Instagram post on May 29, 2020, that tagged Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, MedMen, Net-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods.[6] James wrote on Instagram: "So many of your businesses are built on Black spending power. So many of your stores are set up in Black communities. So many of your sponsored posts are seen on Black feeds. This is the least you can do for us. We represent 15% of the population and we need to represent 15% of your shelf space."[7][8] In August 2020, James recalled, "I was watching Black-owned businesses literally shutter before my very eyes while I was also seeing these major retailers say, 'We stand with you,'" ... "And the reality is that you actually don’t."[4]

Vogue writes the post "immediately went viral and resulted in an outpouring of interest."[9] James then started an Instagram account for the 15 Percent Pledge and continued tagging retailers to highlight disparities impacting Black-owned businesses.[2]

In June 2020, James told GQ, "This is a really tough time for everyone, and people shopping is by no means going to ease the pain of the lives that we have lost ... There are also a lot of other things that we need people to be doing, like donating to bail funds."[10]

The 15 Percent Pledge Foundation

After the early success of the 15 Percent Pledge initiative, the 15 Percent Pledge Foundation was created as a non-profit organization[7] to urge major retailers to commit 15% of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses[6][11] and to build generational wealth in Black communities.[12] The 15 Percent Pledge is registered as a domestic not-for-profit organisation in New York[13] and fiscally sponsored by the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that serves as a fiscal depository for organizations in the process of obtaining 501(c)(3) status.[14]

The 15 Percent Pledge is more than a commitment to allocating shelf space to Black-owned businesses; companies signing the pledge are also asked to audit their contracts to determine how their spending is allocated.[15] The foundation conducts the audit of the company each quarter, shares its database of Black-owned businesses, and offers business development strategies.[16]

Development

On June 10, 2020, Sephora was announced publicly as the first business to sign on to the 15 Percent Pledge, and said it would create an advisory group that includes James and other leaders of brands owned by people of color to help Sephora make changes.[17] The New York Times writes Sephora also "said it would provide connections and support to black-owned businesses from funders and venture capitalists and evolve its existing incubation programs to 'focus on women of color,'" and that this is an example of the type of longer-lasting change sought by the 15 Percent Pledge.[17] Since then, Sephora developed Sephora Accelerate, a mentoring program focused on supporting beauty brands founded by Black, indigenous and people of color.[15]

Businesses including Rent The Runway, West Elm, and MedMen,[4] as well as Macy's, Indigo Books & Music in Toronto, Yelp, the U.S. edition of Condé Nast’s Vogue,[6] Macy's subsidiaries Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, and InStyle magazine[18] have since signed on to the 15 Percent Pledge.

In August 2020, the 15 Percent Pledge Foundation conducted audits of retailers, including Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus, and according to Reuters, found "Black-owned businesses currently constitute on average just 1% of U.S. retailers' supplier base."[19]

In September 2020, James asked Canadian retailers to take the 15 Percent Pledge in a Toronto Star opinion article,[20] and CBC News reports "James said the Canadian effort was launched partly in response to feedback she got from Canadians who got in touch as a result of the U.S. campaign to say that retailers such as Hudson's Bay and Holt Renfrew can do better."[21] Indigo Books and Music became the first Canadian company to take the 15 Percent Pledge.[22]

In April 2021, the foundation publicly addressed the announcement by Target of its plan to spend more than $2 billion on Black-owned businesses by 2025,[23] with a statement that included, "We should not be applauding this. We deserve so much more than this" and an allegation that Target had copied the foundation's branding, which Target denied.[24][25] James told CNBC in May 2021, "Whether or not Target wants to take the pledge or any of these other companies want to take the pledge, we’re still going to keep holding their feet to the fire and pushing them to do more."[16]

By May 2021, the 15 Percent Pledge Foundation had 25 retail partners.[16][26]

References
  1. Regensdorf, Laura (June 12, 2020). "Aurora James on This Week's Big Win for the 15 Percent Pledge and Black-Owned Brands". Vanity Fair.
  2. Urquhart, Tira (June 10, 2020). "Shoe Designer Aurora James Challenges The Fashion Community With "15% Pledge" To Demand Support Of Black-Owned Businesses". BET. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  3. Fraser, Kristopher (June 21, 2020). "Will Aurora James' 15 Percent Pledge Help Start a Black Retail Revolution?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  4. Cachero, Paulina (August 11, 2020). "Fashion Entrepreneur Aurora James: 'We Need to Support Black-Owned Businesses. Period.'". TIME Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  5. Kent, Sarah; Lieber, Chavie (May 31, 2020). "Designer Aurora James Calls on Retailers to Commit to Black-Owned Businesses". Business of Fashion. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  6. Holman, Jordyn (December 7, 2020). "Aurora James, the Founder Seeking Shelf Space". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  7. Connelly, Louise (August 9, 2020). "This Instagram post could unlock hundreds of millions of dollars for Black-owned businesses". CNBC. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  8. Samaha, Barry (June 8, 2020). "Aurora James Is Calling On the Retail Industry to Take the 15 Percent Pledge". Harpers Bazaar.
  9. Okwudo, Janelle (August 26, 2020). "Aurora James on Fashion, Feminism, and the Fifteen Percent Pledge". VOGUE. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  10. Wolf, Cam (June 2, 2020). "This Initiative Could Direct Billions of Dollars to Black-Owned Businesses". GQ. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  11. Rougeau, Naomi (September 15, 2020). "How Aurora James Took the 15 Percent Pledge From an Instagram Post to a 501(c)(3)". ELLE Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. Duffy, Clare (June 7, 2020). "15% Pledge calls on Target, Whole Foods and other retailers to dedicate shelf space to black-owned businesses". CNN Business. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  13. "15 PERCENT PLEDGE INC". opengovny. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  14. "Designated Funds". Philanthropic Ventures Foundation. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  15. "Meet the woman on a mission to have retailers commit 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands". CBS This Morning. March 6, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  16. Repko, Melissa; Thomas, Lauren (May 25, 2021). "After George Floyd was killed, retailers pledged to put Black-owned brands on shelves. Here's how it's going". CNBC. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  17. Maheshwari, Sapna (June 10, 2020). "Sephora Signs '15 Percent Pledge' to Carry More Black-Owned Brands". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  18. Fernandez, Chantal (November 23, 2020). "Macy's Inc. and InStyle Join 15 Percent Pledge to Support Black-Owned Brands". Business of Fashion. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  19. Waldersee, Victoria (August 31, 2020). "Yelp joins 15 Percent Pledge to increase representation of Black-owned businesses". Reuters. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  20. James, Aurora (September 27, 2020). "Black and Indigenous creators are missing from the shelves of Canadian retailers — the 15 Percent Pledge aims to fix that". The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  21. Weikle, Brandie (June 25, 2020). "Campaign to promote BIPOC-owned brands calls on Canadian retailers to take '15 Percent Pledge'". CBC News. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  22. Galways, Souzan Michael (October 22, 2020). "Indigo Is the First Major Canadian Retailer Committed to Selling More Black Brands". Flare.
  23. Boyle, Matthew (April 7, 2021). "Target pledges to expand products from Black-owned firms". The Seattle Times. Bloomberg. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  24. Fernandez, Chantal (April 9, 2021). "15 Percent Pledge Calls Out Target on Racial Equity Initiatives". Business of Fashion. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  25. Smith, Lilly (April 9, 2021). "Did Target steal this Black creator's branding?". Fast Company. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  26. Martin, Michel (June 5, 2021). "Update On Retailers' '15 Percent Pledge'". NPR. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
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