The border city of Juarez, Mexico — found just across the river from El Paso — has a woman problem. Women disappear, are sexually abused, and they often — way too often — wind up dead. The women are young and hopeful — some of Juarez’s victims are as young as 13. And their discarded bodies are often found dumped in dried up river gullies and empty lots, hastily buried in mass desert graves and abandoned buildings. Keep reading »
Out of respect for the people of Mexico, the women and girls of Juarez and their families, as well as our MAC Mexican staff and colleagues, MAC has made the decision not to ship the MAC Rodarte limited edition makeup collection. This decision will have no impact on MAC’s commitment to donate all of its projected global profits from this collection to local and international groups that work to improve the lives of the women and girls of Juarez. We are currently conducting due diligence to ensure we donate to organizations with a proven record of directly supporting the women and girls of Juarez.”
We would have just been satisfied with changing the offensively named products — nail polishes called Juarez and Factory — and donating some proceeds to charities. We’re happy the company will still do the donation thing. But their decision for the entire M.A.C. collaboration comes as a complete surprise. What do y’all think? [NYMag.com]
Dang, when people complain, MAC really does listen. Last week, Jessica told you about the makeup brand’s collaboration with designers Rodarte, which was inspired by the culture and colors of Mexico. Two nail polish shades were named “Juarez” and “Factory,” which we deemed insensitive and offensive, because the town is notorious for the number of women who have been raped and murdered with little or no response from police. MAC first responded by saying that they planned to donate a portion of the proceeds to benefit the city’s crime victims, but even bigger steps are being taken today. According to The Cut, MAC sent an email around to editors saying that they are now planning on changing the names of the products in the collection. No word yet on what those changes will entail, but thumb’s up to MAC for taking the complaints seriously. Let’s hope they’re still planning on those donations though. [NYMag.com] Keep reading »
