The Hudson’s Bay company announced this morning on its Instagram page that it has taken the Fifteen Percent Pledge. The pledge is an initiative started by Aurora James — Toronto-born and U.S.-based fashion designer behind Brother Vellies — last year as an initiative combat the effects of systemic racism in both the U.S. and Canada.
Retailers such as the Gap, Crate & Barrel, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Indigo, Sephora and many more have already taken the pledge. Many of the American companies have pledged that 15 per cent of shelf space will be dedicated to products from Black-owned businesses. Canadian companies such as Indigo and now Hudson’s Bay are committing to stocking 15 per cent of its products from Black-owned, Indigenous-owned and POC-owned companies.
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“As one of the country’s leading corporate citizens, Hudson’s Bay has a responsibility to drive equity and inclusion in Canada,” said Iain Nairn, president and CEO of Hudson’s Bay in a statement posted to the Fifteen Percent Pledge’s Instagram page. “Our commitment through the Fifteen Percent Pledge is part of a holistic change to how we do business, and will hold us accountable to providing opportunity and delivering products that are representative of the diversity of our customers, associates and communities.”
The post also says: “This 350-year-old establishment is the oldest company in North America. In a historical move, they are the first major department store in Canada to take the Pledge, signalling a push towards a future shaped by diverse thinking.”
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The Bay’s pledge details that by fall of this year, 15 per cent of all new brands purchased for its retail locations and thebay.com each season will be BIPOC-owned or designed. Then by 2022, the company has pledged that 15 per cent or more of the design talent for its in-house brands will be Black, Indigenous and people of colour.
“This will hold us accountable to providing opportunity and delivering products that are representative of the diversity of our customers, associates and communities,” reads the Instagram post from Hudson’s Bay.