Fashion and beauty brands respond to the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has led to Europe’s worst security crisis in decades. The plight of innocent civilians has left many reeling with shock. People all over the world have not restricted themselves to donating, as they have also shown their support in myriad ways. Beauty and fashion brands are being mindful about their roles too. From magazines to fashion houses, people are showing their support by adopting different measures. March 8th was selected by beauty brands to be ‘Beauty for Ukraine’ day.
Beauty for Ukraine day
International Women’s day became ‘Beauty for Ukraine day’. Townhouse, a nail salon brand, donated 100% of their earnings from all their locations to the UNHCR Emergency Appeal for Ukraine as a part of their #NailsforUkraine campaign. What started as a salon campaign became the #BeautyforUkraine campaign. Salons from all over the UK and US participated and donated a considerable portion of their earnings.
Toiletries Amnesty
Marie Claire has collaborated with Toiletries Amnesty to help donate to refugees in Poland. Toiletries Amnesty has received donations from well-known brands like Wella, Cloud Nine, and L’Occitane. The brand is also working with Polish charities to enable them to send products to the border. They are also sending care packages.
Fashion brands show support
Fashion brands are going all out to show that they support peace, and are collecting resources. Burberry has shut down three of their stores in Russia. They have also announced that they would match any employee donation to charities that support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Adidas has donated $108,700. It has also donated apparel and footwear to charities that are helping refugees. Net-a-porter, the online retailer, has stopped their trading with Russia. They have suspended all order fulfilments in Russia ‘until further notice’. Fashion brands seem to be firm in their stance on their business dealings with Russia.
Beauty companies are taking a stand
Beauty brands are aligning themselves with consumer sentiment, and quite a few of them have started suspending operations in Russia. Coty is not conducting any industrial activity in Russia. Sephora has shut down its stores, and suspended its e-commerce operations in Russia. Raven Botanicals has pledged to donate 50% of its revenue to humanitarian causes in Ukraine for the entire month of March. Beauty brand UpCircle has announced that it will donate a cut each time it sells a beauty balm.
Ukrainian designers show support
Amidst growing concerns, Ukrainian designers are showing support by using their platforms to raise money and gather resources. Shopping malls in Kyiv are displaying messages that support peace. Ukrainian designers like Sleeper, Anna October, Sofiya Kvasha, and others are doing whatever they can to share resources and information. They are also working on projects to create motivational material. Some have designed posters for their social media feeds. Ukrainian designers who live in different countries have taken to their social media platforms to show financial and logistical support. Profits from their work are being donated to show support to Ukraine’s refugees.
