Brands Use Black History Month UK to Celebrate & Educate

Extra

Boots

Reflecting activities profiled in our Black History Month UK 2020 report, additional brands have since emerged to take a celebratory approach to the Black British community and their experiences. Crucially, celebration isn’t mutually exclusive with the provision of education surrounding race, with Boots and Allbirds both aiming to strike that balance in pushing for positive social change.

Boots

UK health and beauty retailer Boots is using its bootshealthandbeauty.com microsite to celebrate Black beauty and wellness pioneers. A series of articles sees Jamelia Donaldson, founder of Treasure Tress – the first beauty subscription box for Afro hair, highlight her favourite black-owned beauty brands, while Dija Ayodele, aesthetician and founder of advice and shopping platform Black Skin Directory, reveals her Black skincare tips. Beauty insiders Ateh Jewel, Sal Cikikcioglu and Ayesha Muttucumaru discuss how the beauty industry can become more inclusive while, looking beyond product offerings, Rhiane Fatinikun, founder of Black Girls Hike UK, writes about the importance of diversity in rural areas.

Boots has also produced a short listicle that gives five suggestions for how customers can support and celebrate the Black community. The piece links to a list of iconic Black films to watch, listings for Black History Month events, Black business directory ItsBlackOwned, a Black literature reading list and the official Black History Month UK resource pack.

Allbirds

Throughout October, American eco-footwear brand Allbirds is teaming up with Black-owned businesses and artists across London to host a series of art, food and drink events in its Covent Garden and Marylebone stores. These include an art exhibition from Chloe Carterr and Jay Angelo – two London-based artists whose work covers topics from the environment to identity, and Fikre Kitchen, an East London-based family food vendor, serving vegan Ethiopian dishes, free of charge.