Many beauty brands did a lot more than release new products this year. Between the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, social justice movements, and the presidential election, we needed more from the industry than new innovations — and many of our favourite companies delivered.
Help from the beauty industry [1] came in many different forms. Many brands took part in gifting products to essential workers [2] on the front lines fighting COVID-19, others donated money toward PPE for medical staff, and a few changed their production line [3] to make up for shortages in disinfectant products like hand sanitizer. While the economy is hurting and unemployment numbers have skyrocketed, many companies are donating large sums of money to organisations geared toward providing food and other forms of relief to those in need.
Then, this summer, long overdue support for the Black Lives Matter Movement [4] came flooding in by way of donations and calls for action [5]. This resulted in many brands taking a closer look at their own company practices and making necessary changes, as well as providing grants [6] for small, Black-owned beauty brands to help foster growth and make up for the discrepancy in funding often given to these brands. While there's still much work to be done, this year has been a positive jumping-off point for meaningful change in the industry.
Keep scrolling to take a closer at some of the beauty brands that made a difference in 2020.
Lipslut
The politically-charged makeup brand Lipslut [7] donated 100 percent of its earnings from the sale of its RGD lip shade to organisations like Feeding America, Doctors Without Borders [8], and No Kid Hungry [9].
Then, ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the brand expanded its collection of F*ck Trump lipsticks [10] with three new shades where 50 percent of the earnings for every product sold goes to civil-rights organisations targeted by the Trump administration.
Uoma Beauty
In June, Sharon Chuter, founder and CEO of Uoma Beauty, launched the Pull Up or Shut Up Challenge that implored companies across the beauty industry to disclose the percentage of Black people at their company to highlight their presence, or lack thereof, in leadership positions in corporate America.
MAC
MAC donated $10 million to 250 organisations worldwide via its Viva Glam campaign to support at-risk communities and those affected by COVID-19. The brand announced this news on April 2 via Miley Cyrus [11]'s Bright Minded series on Instagram.
Unilever
The parent company behind Dove, Suave, and Tresemme donated $20 million in products and services to fight against COVID-19 in March. This included giving $8 million through donations of food, soap, personal hygiene, and home cleaning products to its partner Feeding America [12] and donating more than 200,000 masks to local hospitals in New Jersey to help protect health care professionals.
Henkel Beauty Care Hair Professional
Henkel Beauty Care Hair Professional [13] supported stylists during COVID-19 by donating $200K to The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) to support the PBA COVID-19 Relief Fund, as well as 200K units of hair product and monetary funding to organisations such as Beauty Changes Lives, Dress for Success, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, and Project Beauty Share in major hot spots like Los Angeles, New York, and Washington.
Bumble and Bumble
In March, Bumble and Bumble and its parent brand Estée Lauder Companies utilised one of the brand's factories to manufacture hand sanitizer for front-line medical staff and other community members. The factory that participated in the coronavirus relief effort was located in Melville, NY.
Heyday Skincare
Heyday first stepped up during 2020 by offering virtual skin consultations for essential workers fighting the pandemic — many of whom were experiencing skin irritation from wearing masks for long periods of time at work. Each session lasted roughly 15-minutes long and gave healthcare workers the opportunity to talk with someone, as well as ask skin-care advice.
Then, after Aurora James created the 15 percent pledge [14] asking brands to commit at least 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned brands, Heyday was the first beauty company to take the pledge.
Nivea
In April, Nivea [15] and its parent company, Beiersdorf, donated 200,000 Eucerin, Nivea, and Aquaphor skin-care products and 500,000 medical-grade sanitizers to hospital workers around the country.
Sephora
As a thank you to frontline healthcare employees, Sephora launched its "Project Care" program in May in, which donated select beauty products to over 65,000 essential workers. Employees working in the brand's stores, distribution centres, and corporate offices across the US nominated 500 individuals on the frontline to receive the packages.
Then, in June, the beauty retailer took the 15 percent pledge and committed to stocking its stores with more Black-owned brands.
Aveda
Aveda [16] launched a multi-million dollar relief program, Aveda Cares, to benefit stylists and more than 6,000 independently-owned salons and spas around the country that carry Aveda products. The initiative's goal was to help salons recover from COVID-19 closures.
L'Oréal USA
To support licenced professionals in the US who were unable to work due to COVID-19, L'Oréal USA Professional Products [17] donated to the Professional Beauty Association COVID-19 Relief Fund [18]. The fund supplied emergency aid for short-term needs like food and bills.
The brand also launched an initiative to provide relief to Americans and small businesses alike by freezing the existing payments of very small and small-size enterprises in its distribution network, including independent hair salons, until businesses resume.
Coty Professional Beauty
In March at the start of COVID-19, Coty Inc, the parent company of CoverGirl, Sally Hansen, and Calvin Klein fragrances, focussed its production efforts on making hand sanitizers for medical professionals and emergency services.
Then, Coty Professional Beauty [19] established a $650K COVID-19 industry relief fund for hairstylists, manicurists, and makeup artists.
Glossier
In May, Glossier pledged $1 million to the Black community. $500,000 was donated to organisations focussed on combating racial injustice, while the other $500,000 was used to create grants for Black-owned beauty businesses.
Through the brand's Grant Initiative For Black-Owned Businesses, 16 companies out of nearly 10,000 applicants were selected to receive either $10K, $30K, or $50K in funding to help get their business off the ground.
Anastasia Beverly Hills
In June, Anastasia Beverly Hills donated $1 million to the Innocence Project, the NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund, Black Visions Collective, and The Marshall Project to help fight systemic racism and injustice.
Monat
To address the shortages, Monat [20] shifted production at its US-based hair-care and skin-care manufacturing facility and gave away 240,000 two-ounce bottles of hand-sanitizer to government entities, non-profit organisations, and customers across North America.