The department store, along with its subsidiaries Bluemercury and Bloomingdales, and the American fashion magazine are the latest organisations to take up Aurora James’ 15 Percent Pledge to allocating a set amount of retail space, content and collaborations with Black-owned brands.
James started the pledge campaign after the killing of George Floyd by police officers in May, which spurred wider awareness and support of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as conversations about discrimination in the fashion industry.
Other organizations that have signed the pledge include Sephora, Rent the Runway and American Vogue. Macy’s Inc. will be the largest company to take the pledge and said it will dedicate 15 percent of its buys in all product categories to Black-owned businesses.
InStyle magazine pledges that 15 percent of the brands it covers are Black-owned, and it also promises to promote Black creatives in the fields of modelling, styling and other adjacent fields.