At Unilever, we unequivocally condemn any form of racism, discrimination, or violence. We know we have a responsibility to help drive systemic change, and have been making progress against our goals since we last shared an update.
We also know we have a responsibility to do more to use our scale for good and help tackle the root causes of social injustice. Here are some of the most recent steps we’ve taken.
Increasing Investments with Diverse Suppliers
We are working to influence change by increasing our work with diverse suppliers. These suppliers are businesses owned and managed by women, underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, veterans, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+ communities. Unilever North America increased its spend with diverse suppliers by 16% from 2020 to 2021.
This work ladders up to Unilever’s global goal of spending €2 billion annually with diverse suppliers by 2025. It also helps ensure that our work to drive diversity, equity and inclusion will extend beyond our people and our operations.
Advocating for The CROWN Act
Since 2019, Dove and The CROWN Coalition have been advocating to make The CROWN Act law nationwide. (CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair). The CROWN Act prohibits discrimination in workplaces and public schools based on hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots.
The CROWN Act or legislation inspired by the CROWN ACT has been signed in 16 states and 44 municipalities. This year, it also passed in the House of Representatives and is now awaiting consideration from the Senate. Together with the CROWN Coalition, Dove is committed to progressing The CROWN Act until hair discrimination is illegal in all 50 states.
To support the movement, we are encouraging everyone to help us #PassTheCROWN to end race-based hair discrimination by signing the petition and emailing their Senator at Dove.com/CROWN.
Vaseline Launches See My Skin Database
In April 2022, Vaseline launched See My Skin, the only database designed to search for conditions on skin of color and connect patients with dermatologists who understand their skin needs. See My Skin aims to improve skin healthcare outcomes for people of color as part of Vaseline’s Equitable Skincare for All program.
As an educational resource, See My Skin was developed with partners HUED and VisualDx to display expert recommendations, information, and image results that people of color seek when searching for skin conditions. By providing access to quality and impartial skin care with a robust database of board-certified dermatologists, See My Skin helps improve skin healthcare outcomes for people of color as part of Vaseline’s Equitable Skincare for All program. See My Skin contributes to Vaseline’s mission to create 15 million more equitable skincare experiences by 2025.
TRESemmé Future Stylists Fund: Advancing Black Women in the Haircare Industry
In April 2022, TRESemmé announced an expansion of the Future Stylist Fund to make textured hair training more readily available to licensed stylists across the country. TRESemmé recognizes that the ability to work with natural, textured hair is not a required core competency to achieve a professional and practicing hair license.
To counteract the lack of inclusive training in past and current cosmetology curriculums, TRESemmé is partnering with SimpleeBEAUTIFUL’s Curly Textured Academy, founded by celebrity hairstylist and CEO Diane Da Costa, to train more stylists in textured hair care.
As part of this partnership, the brand is launching its first TRESemmé Texture Certification Program to offer ongoing education and complimentary textured hair training to licensed stylists throughout the country.
The brand is also in year two of their Future Stylists Fund scholarship initiative supporting aspiring Black female hairstylists. In 2022, ten stylists were awarded $10,000 each to help offset the cost of cosmetology school tuition. Recipients also receive industry exposure, mentorship, and career-advancing opportunities as part of the program.
Baby Dove Creates Black Birth Equity Fund
In an effort to help close the Black maternal care gap, Baby Dove announced the creation of the Black Birth Equity Fund in August 2021. The fund provides Black expecting mothers with immediate financial access to doula services. Research shows that with the support of a doula, moms are two times less likely to experience birth complications, four times less likely to have a low birthweight baby and are more likely to experience overall positive health outcomes during the birthing journey.
The fund is part of Baby Dove’s long-term commitments to advance superior care for Black moms in partnership with leading advocacy groups like Black Mamas Matter Alliance. To date, Baby Dove has supported hundreds of moms with funding.
Additionally, Baby Dove collaborated with Walmart to launch a full range of skin and hair products specifically developed for babies with melanin-rich skin and coils, curls, and waves.
Dove Building Hair Love & Confidence in Kids with Curls, Coils & Waves
Through its ongoing commitment to progressing CROWN Act legislation, new product collections and Dove Self-Esteem Project tools, Dove is working to ensure the next generation of Black kids can develop a positive relationship with beauty.
In November 2021, Dove partnered with filmmaker and CROWN Act advocate Matthew A. Cherry to launch the Dove Kids Care Hair Love product collection that encourages Black kids to love their hair. The Dove Kids Care Hair Love Collection is a range of hair products made specifically for kids with curls, coils, and waves. Hair Love's main character, Zuri, is featured on each bottle wearing fun and playful styles to highlight the diversity and beauty of natural hair so that Black kids can see themselves reflected while practicing self-care.
As part of this effort to ensure Black children continue to build self-esteem, hair love and resilience, the Dove Self-Esteem Project developed a new tool called My Hair, My CROWN. This is a resource for educators, parents and mentors, and has been academically validated to boost hair confidence in kids with coils, curls, waves and protective styles.
Unilever launched Nos Inspiras Tú
In September 2022, Unilever launched a company-wide, purpose-led initiative for the Hispanic community called Nos Inspiras Tú. Along with an inspirational ad campaign, three of Unilever’s brands kicked off the initiative by taking action toward systemic change.
Dove Self-Esteem Project adds new tool for Hispanic Youth
Low body confidence and anxieties over appearance keep young people from being their best selves, affecting their health, friendships, and even performance at school. Dove believes no young person should be held back from reaching their full potential. Within the Hispanic community, body image pressures can be particularly intensified due to acculturative stress and the struggle of having to balance the body ideals of multiple cultures.
In partnership with Dr. Marisol Perez, a Psychology professor at Arizona State University, Dove will be creating a new tool as part of the Dove Self-Esteem Project specifically for Hispanic youth. The new curriculum will be unveiled in 2022 and implemented with Dove partners like Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Knorr launches study on lives and needs of Hispanics
Knorr believes that wholesome, nutritious food should be accessible and affordable to all. Knorr and UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, are working on a new study that will offer a deeper understanding of the lives and needs of Hispanics in rural areas to support solutions for improving the quality of and access to nutritious food. The study will be published in 2022 and will inform Knorr’s future work in promoting healthy eating habits and supporting families in food-insecure communities.
Knorr began working with UnidosUS last year on a project encouraging voter registration amongst Hispanics through the campaign #FeedTheVote, providing over 4,000 families with the ability to register to vote and receive resources to create nutritious meals at home.
Hellmann’s partners with Hispanic families to build tools to reduce food waste
Hellmann’s is committed to inspiring more than 100 million people around the world to waste less food each year. As part of that mission, they are embarking on a study in the US to help uncover simple solutions people can use at home to reduce food waste. Hellmann’s is partnering with Hispanic families to understand their food habits as a way to help build tools, resources and recipes that will further help the Hispanic community reduce food waste, which will ultimately help families save money, eat better and help support the environment.
Sundial Launched the Next Black Millionaire Fund
In celebration of 30 years of elevating and investing in Black entrepreneurship, Sundial launched its Next Black Millionaire Fund in 2021. Through an application process, three entrepreneurs will be granted $100,000 in innovation seed funding, access to business leaders and other successful business founders, and one-on-one mentorship and coaching from the New Voices Foundation.
Caress Partners with IFundWomen of Color
Caress became the founding partner of IFundWomen of Color, and launched the Caress Dreams Fund. The Dreams Fund has awarded over 150 entrepreneurs with $2,500 ($1,000 in grants and $1,500 in one-on-one intensive coaching scholarships) as well as additional resources on the IFundWomen of Color platform. The brand has committed $1.75mm to supporting women of color.
Dove Men+Care Advances Commitment to C.A.R.E. (Care About Racial Equity)
Dove Men+Care is committed to addressing and dismantling the stereotypes that hold men back from being their most caring selves. Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the brand made a focused commitment to Black men – who have continued to face disproportionate levels of discrimination and misrepresentation – by continuing the commitment to debunk these stereotypes in an effort to create a world where Black men and young men are cared for, respected, and supported.
In 2021, brand research showed that white people were more likely to see Black men as an athlete over any other profession. This one-dimensional stereotype around Black men’s physicality is harmful, so we continued our efforts through 2022 to highlight the stories of Off Court Champs – inclusive of former and current student athletes turned CEOs, artists, doctors, teachers, and more who prioritize care over everything.