Since our launch as a direct-to-consumer company in the spring of 2019, Poplinen has been on a mission to be a vehicle for good in the lives of all women through business. As a Latina, I have always been aware of the lacking diversity in the companies I worked for and the products being advertised to me. When dreaming up Poplinen, I knew I wanted it to be a company that championed BIPOC (not just in advertising but in company culture) and made products that all women felt represented by.
However, the sobering and painful truth brought to my attention is that we cannot celebrate the lives of all women without standing in lasting allegiance with Black Lives Matter.
I am still reflecting and processing on the gravitas of this tumultuous time––more black lives murdered by senseless acts of violence, police brutality, and systemic racism still spewing toxicity throughout our nation.
Change will not come overnight, but in daily decisions––consciously using our power and privilege to make consistent choices that are anti-racist and promote true justice. This requires hard work, constant learning and unlearning, open lines of communication, and our transparent commitment to do our part.
The Poplinen Commitment to Black Lives Matter:
Representation: We are devoted to ensuring black women are equally represented in our brand content from models to writers to bloggers to influencers we collaborate with, and hiring for our corporate team.
Company Culture: We are dedicated to creating and fostering an inclusive and diverse company culture that offers opportunity, leadership, representation, and belonging to all current and future black team members.
Amplify Black Voices: Utilizing Poplinen as a platform to amplify the voices and stories of black lives, and support the causes they strive for.
Donate: We are committed to donating 20% of sales this June and 1% of total sales for the rest of 2020 and 2021 to Color of Change, a non-profit that designs campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward.
Humility: We are resolute to regard ourselves humbly and with sensitivity to cultural issues, seeing ourselves as learners from people within the black community. This work is highly dependent on each person taking responsibility for their learning journey, and we are committed to doing better as we know better.
In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Poplinen will not stand quietly on the sidelines. We stand with justice.
Here’s to progress.
Desiree Buchanan
Founder, POPLINEN