How to authentically support minority owned businesses, by Maïna Cissé, founder of the underargument
By Maïna Cissé, Founder of the underargument
I am a black woman, and the founder of the lingerie brand, the underargument. I'm one of the many designers whose identity makes them hot property for larger retail businesses right now. These retailers are aiming to show the world they are not only woke, but committed to creating more equality for minority groups through supporting brands like mine.
But my recent experience with a large American retailer has forced me to question the authenticity of these so-called positive actions. When the retailer first approached me, in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, I had a feeling why. Although this was never mentioned openly. I didn't hear the words "support", or "minority", or "black-owned". So maybe, I thought, they just loved the brand I had created for its values and its beautiful product?
Four months after our first conversation, countless back and forth, and a draft order of 1000+ pieces, I am invited to learn more about their processes in a "Diverse & Minority Owned Session", as the calendar invite states. This was my first and only warning I had entered the initiative they call their Women & Minority Owned Businesses pledge. They have committed to ensuring 15% of their business is done with WMOB. Fast forward a few months — I go into production, my order of over 1000 pieces gets cancelled, then subsequently confirmed again 15 minutes (and a half heart attack later), to finally get halved two weeks after.
A few evenings later, an email arrived on my phone: "Maina - do you have either a Minority/Women-Owned Certification or MBW/WBE (Minority and Business Owned Enterprises) Ownership Affidavit? It was just requested for the set-up process!". The little information I could find online about MBW showed it was something I’d have to pay for and renew yearly — I guess in case my ethnicity decides to change at some point?
I get on the phone to them to express in the politest way possible that I would not subject myself to a reverse brown paper bag test to satisfy their legal team. The buyer is confused because it never crossed her mind it was inappropriate as "they ask this of everyone, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+…". I have no idea how they certify that I'm black enough, but the mystery of how one gets certified LGBTQ+ seems inherently unethical. She's also genuinely concerned as despite her employer's mislead tactics; she's a decent human being and understanding "Of course you don't have to do this if you're not comfortable". But I'm highly uncomfortable. Saving yourselves from dubious legalities has clearly been discussed internally. There was time for that but there was no time to define what support truly means?
I cancelled the order. I decided that it was more important to respect myself and my community, to educate through my experience rather than contribute to our problem. This leaves me with unsold stock, but a clean conscience.
Support is not getting your employee to scroll through Instagram to find "cool diverse brands". Our communities are strong and creative on their own. That's why the buzz is getting louder. That's why businesses like yours finally see us. But we are not here to elevate you. We have to work against the legacy businesses your scale have ingrained in consumers’ minds every day so we can exist, survive. And that's why you can recognise our added value; we have an edge that's authentic and connects with consumers. It's not bought and engineered by investors and large financial backups. It's human. It's real.
We could use your support to grow stronger businesses, recognising our talent could be a source of empowerment. But support is equity, not equality. It's great to take a pledge to increase the volume of business you do with minority groups, but the commitment shouldn't be to reach a percentage only; it should be to eradicate a belief system that only supports the sustainability of gatekeepers. And frankly keeps you stuck in a different century altogether.
Support means holding up. Elevating. It is a verb. Therefore, an action. If the true meaning of the words support, change, empowerment and elevation aren't put into action through your pledge, you're missing the point. We can't deliver change without accepting to change our mindset and old ways. Change is uncomfortable. Discomfort is what small brands bathe in every day, and if you're not knocking at our doors with a desire to alleviate some of that, help us create stability so we can empower our communities; why come to us at all?
More and more small-scale fashion independents grow sustainable businesses without the support of wholesale. Retailers should fear losing us for good and put everything that's in your power to make that pledge something that has a foundation based on fair values. We're not asking for charity. If you reach out to us with a plan to use our identity to promote your "philanthropic" projects, then you should have a plan to make it frictionless for us, not the other way around.
You can't observe the same old tactics that only work in your favour. This is what I suggest support small and minority owned businesses could look like:
- If you can't, don't. Do not go ahead with a "minority support" initiative if you can't provide the support we need. You can't just jump on the bandwagon and do more harm. If you provide true support, a sustainable plan based on mutual support and longevity, our brand will strive in your business. But if you don't, you're putting us at risk.
- Be sensible. You can't ask us to prove that we are enough of a minority to be worthy of being marketed as such. The fact I just used marketed in the same phrase I am talking about human beings is the whole issue you should recognise. We are not tokens. We are not a trend; we are not the season's marketing strategy. Involve us, talk to us. Do not make board decisions on what representation and/or support should look like without us in the room. It’s bound to fail.
- Put some skin in the game. There are ways to make it equitable for us without you hiding in fear behind your old ways. If you offer us the same terms you do large brands you've been working with since the 70s, if you don't prepare your teams for "the challenge", if you don't balance marketing, public image and financial gain with purpose, simply put, if you don't try to understand the needs of the communities you wish to work with. That's not support, that's exploitation.
- Everyone should truly be involved. From Onboarding to Buying, and finance to marketing teams. If it takes you eight months to place an order, but we have to pay to be EDI compliant from day one, and you won't even consider waiving some of your cashback terms, if it is "hard to get space from the marketing team to promote small brands", then your business isn't committed to its pledge. You have the weight to partner with all the tech suppliers we need to contract with (sometimes for up to 3 years!) to make it easier for you to order from us.
- Do your research. There are other ways to show you're committed to helping businesses in certain communities that will still make you look good whilst doing good – offer grants, mentoring etc. If you truly get to know us, you'll know what we need, and you'll get your share of the success when time is due.
- Accept diversity is the outcome. Sometimes you need to do something because it's right, because it makes you better and helps others. Because if you're a large business or even if you just have an audience, want it or not, you're a political and social actor playing in favour or against communities every day. Opening your doors to people you ignored for decades isn't something that should first be looked at as a financial opportunity for you, even though it is.