Saturday, June 27, 2009

L'Oreal is Racist.

Word on the street is mega beauty Giant- L'Oreal is blatantly racist. They consider black, Arab and Asian women unworthy of selling its shampoo, and are being sued in a French High Court.

Check out the article posted on Black Girl w/ Long Hair:

L’Oréal, the French cosmetics giant, whose advertising campaigns proclaim “because you’re worth it,” was found guilty of racial discrimination for considering black, Arab and Asian women unworthy of selling its shampoo.

France’s highest court was told that the group had sought an all-white team of sales staff to promote Fructis Style, a haircare product made by Garnier, L’Oréal’s beauty division.

The word went out that Garnier’s hostesses should be BBR — “bleu, blanc, rouge” — the colours of the French flag. The expression is widely recognised in the French recruitment world as a code for white French people born to white French parents, a court was told, in effect excluding the four million or so members of ethnic minorities in France.

La Cour de Cassation, the equivalent of the US Supreme Court, said that the policy was illegal under French employment law, upholding a ruling given by the Paris Appeal Court in 2007.

The judgment was a significant blow to the image of the world’s biggest cosmetics group, which has spent millions of dollars in global advertising campaigns featuring stars such as Andie MacDowell, Eva Longoria, Penélope Cruz and Claudia Schiffer.

(L'Oreal's) image already suffered a battering when L’Oréal executives were forced to deny claims that they had lightened the singer Beyoncé Knowles’s skin for a campaign last year.


The ruling also hinted at widespread prejudice among French shoppers since L’Oréal believed that they were more likely to buy shampoo from white sales staff, the court was told.

The ruling will fuel anger among black and Arab French people, who complain that they face widespread discrimination when seeking employment.
source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article6572173.ece

When will women of color — and especially black women — achieve "beauty equality"? Why are we considered less attractive and, in the "beauty" industry, less marketable than other women? This shit really really BOTHERS me!
What do you guys think of all this?

via Black Girl with Long Hair

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