Development
On June 10, 2020, Sephora was announced publicly as the first business to sign on to the 15 Percent Pledge, and said it would create an advisory group that includes James and other leaders of brands owned by people of color to help Sephora make changes.[15] The New York Times writes Sephora also "said it would provide connections and support to black-owned businesses from funders and venture capitalists and evolve its existing incubation programs to 'focus on women of color,'" and that this is an example of the type of longer-lasting change sought by the 15 Percent Pledge.[15] Since then, Sephora developed Sephora Accelerate, a mentoring program focused on supporting beauty brands founded by Black, indigenous and people of color.[16]
Businesses including Rent The Runway, West Elm, and MedMen,[5] as well as Macy's, Indigo Books & Music in Toronto, Yelp, the U.S. edition of Condé Nast's Vogue,[10] Macy's subsidiaries Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, and InStyle magazine[17] have since signed on to the 15 Percent Pledge.
In August 2020, the 15 Percent Pledge Foundation conducted audits of retailers, including Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus, and according to Reuters, found "Black-owned businesses currently constitute on average just 1% of U.S. retailers' supplier base."[18]
In September 2020, James asked Canadian retailers to take the 15 Percent Pledge in a Toronto Star opinion article,[19] and CBC News reports "James said the Canadian effort was launched partly in response to feedback she got from Canadians who got in touch as a result of the U.S. campaign to say that retailers such as Hudson's Bay and Holt Renfrew can do better."[20] Indigo Books and Music became the first Canadian company to take the 15 Percent Pledge.[21]
In April 2021, the foundation publicly addressed the announcement by Target of its plan to spend more than $2 billion on Black-owned businesses by 2025,[22] with a statement that included, "We should not be applauding this. We deserve so much more than this" and an allegation that Target had copied the foundation's branding, which Target denied.[23][24] James told CNBC in May 2021, "Whether or not Target wants to take the pledge or any of these other companies want to take the pledge, we're still going to keep holding their feet to the fire and pushing them to do more."
By May 2021, the 15 Percent Pledge Foundation had 25 retail partners.[25][26]
Currently 29 companies have committed to the pledge including Ulta Beauty, Nordstrom, Banana Republic, Moda Operandi, Kith, J.Crew, Blue Mercury and Victoria's Secret. [27]
In 2022, Google partnered with the foundation to offer a $200,000 grant to a black entrepreneur.[28]
In November 2023, the 15 Percent Pledge Foundation and Sephora announced the 'Sephora Beauty Grant', which awarded a black business owner within the beauty industry $100,000.[29][30][31]
