Macy’s to carry more Black-owned brands

Bloomberg

Macy’s Inc plans to devote more of its shelf space to Black-owned brands, becoming one of the most prominent names to join the nascent 15 Percent Pledge movement for racial equity in the retail world.
The department-store chain follows retailers such as West Elm and Sephora signing onto the 15 Percent Pledge, a grassroots effort to increase representation of Black-owned brands in stores across the country.
Macy’s said it will dedicate 15% of its purchasing power across all product categories to Black-owned businesses.
Along with the Macy’s announcement, InStyle US said it would devote 15% of its magazine coverage to Black-owned brands and increase diversity in the models and celebrities featured in its pages.
The pledges add to a renewed push across Corporate America to address systemic racism following the police killing of George Floyd in May and subsequent protests. The 15 Percent Pledge was launched this year to encourage large companies to devote that much of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. So far, nine companies in the US and Canada have joined this pledge.
“Now more than ever, we need to demand that retailers and other companies offer
more than lip service to Black communities,” Aurora James, founder of the 15 Percent Pledge, said.