We learnt two things in 2019: the first is that the world of black-owned offerings is a lot more vast than we ever could have imagined. For us, almost every day is a “have you seen this business? Take my money!” kind of day, which is why this year we’ve decided to just surrender and let Black British brands power our everyday lives. We’re here for it. Leaning into it, yesterday, today and forever.
The second thing that 2019 taught us is that mainstream representation always comes with an asterisk. This was the year Stormzy headlined Glastonbury and Dave smashed it with his number one album, only for both to be overshadowed by the media’s obsession with a boy called Alex. Bernadine Evaristo was the first black woman to win the Booker Prize, but was referred to merely as ‘another author’ as the BBC applauded her co-victor instead. And while we commemorated the first annual Windrush Day, British citizens were still being deported to the Caribbean.
But that was last year. It’s time to make 2020 the year we support Black Brits with our words and our pounds. We challenge you to find black-owned brands for all your needs – from skincare to swimwear, candles to co-working spaces (if you don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered).
We’ve heard too many stories of big brands that don’t know how to navigate diversity, or are in no rush to acknowledge their huge non-white market segment. They pay lip service to inclusion when we threaten to take our business elsewhere, but can we really say they represent us?
Let’s feel represented
Let’s give our money to businesses who understand our needs and our experiences because the founders have been through it themselves. Black entrepreneur Nicola Lespeare launched her greetings card brand after she couldn’t find anyone who looked like her on mainstream offerings; when she didn’t see anyone out there representing her, she went and put something out there herself.
Afrocenchix’s story isn’t too different, as founders Rachael and Joycelyn went about solving their own Afro haircare problems and in doing so discovered a whole segment of the population with exactly the same struggles and no one to solve them.
Ade Hassan couldn’t find nude tights for her black skin – no problem, she created Nubian Skin. There were no good products out there for Afro beards, so Marc Belle launched Mr Blackman’s instead.
Let’s do it for the culture
There is nothing that has the power to unite us and divide us at the exact same time like plantain. This is probably why Hannah Pratt Clothing has created a hoodie with the word emblazoned across the front (pronounce it as you wish).
Kitsch Noir’s greetings card illustration of your dad, who’s fallen asleep in the armchair but swears he’s still watching the TV, is something most of us can relate to – because no one snores on the sofa like a black dad.
We don’t need to convince you much about this – you won’t find a plantain hoodie in H&M.
Right now, Britain’s black talent is the engine pumping trend after trend into mainstream national culture. But water’s always purest at the source: Black British brands capture our culture and experiences in the best way and they deserve our coins for it!
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