Customer Kusi Kimani
Marks and Spencer has finally removed its controversial ‘tobacco bra’ 2 months after customer Kusi Kimani spoke out about the brands decision to name its darker-coloured bras differently to its lighter-coloured bras.
Kimani was shopping in an M&S store 2 months ago when she noticed that the lighter-coloured bras were all named after sweet treats whereas the darker-coloured bra was named 'tobacco'.
The product in question
“I saw it about two weeks after George Floyd’s death and it was particularly raw to see at that time,” Kimani told The Mirror.
“Why not call it cocoa, caramel or chocolate – sweet dessert items? But they used tobacco. I was shocked when I saw it.”
Kimani described the branding as “hurtful” and “an example of how bias is ingrained into society and only helps fuel racism”.
“If a young girl who is already uncomfortable with the colour of her skin [sees it] she will be feeling even more alienated. To see that ‘tobacco’ is for their skin tone will make them feel unwanted by society."
“Tobacco is referred to in society as bad, unhealthy, and highly likely to kill – ‘smoking kills’.”
Yet it has taken M&S 2 months to finally rename the product and issue an apology. Read their statement below:
“In June we shared our commitments to being a truly inclusive place to shop and work and were honest that we have more to do and more to learn. As part of this, we are reviewing our ranges, supported by our Bame network, to ensure we have lingerie items that are flattering and suitable for all customers. All of our product colour names have been taken from a design colour palette used across the industry, but we agree with Kusi. We are changing the name of the bra colour and are writing to Kusi to confirm that, and let her know that we’re sorry for not moving faster.”
What do you think about this and the time it has taken M&S to take action? Equality has always been at the forefront of our brand which is why it is so important to us that our shades are numbered. You can shop your shade at nu-nude.com.
