Pinterest’s New Shop Collection Gives Black-Owned Businesses the Spotlight They Deserve
Get ready to pin like nobody’s business–Pinterest just unveiled a Shop dedicated to showcasing Black-owned fashion and beauty brands. Created in honor of National Black Business Month, this initiative comes on the heels of multiple other social media updates and programs that prioritize small businesses and content creators. They include Facebook’s recently-launched Black Creator Fund, Instagram’s new Personal Fundraising feature (likely a result of a surge of social media activism over the last few months), and more.
According to Pinterest, recent stats show that searches for “Black-owned Business” and “support small business” have increased significantly over the last two months. Specifically, searches for “Black-owned Business” are up 13x, while searches for “support small business” are up 4x. Everyone’s favorite vision board smorgasbord wasted no time responding to user behavior by combining both popular interests in this special Black-owned business feature.
This isn’t Pinterest’s first Shop rodeo. The platform launched similar shops timed with holiday shopping (gift guides for friends, family members, baes, and more) as well as with Earth Day, which highlighted small sustainable brands users could support.
Among the 20+ brands highlighted within the Black-owned shop are some fan favorites, including lemlem, Studio One Eighty Nine, Mahnal, The Folklore, Ceylon, and Beauty Bakerie.
Lemlem led Pinterest’s promotion of this shop, with supermodel and company founder Liya Kebede teasing a board of her own creation that included her favorite picks from her line of artisan-driven resort wear.
Liya was inspired to found lemlem following a trip to her native Ethiopia, where she witnessed traditional weavers making beautiful, complex creations despite having lost the marketplace where they typically sold their wares. According to the company’s mission statement:
lemlem is committed to elevating artisanship and expanding production and jobs across Africa. The core collection is handwoven from natural cotton in Ethiopia. lemlem is committed to helping women thrive through its support for lemlem Foundation.
Ready to get shopping for lemlem goods, or check out the other shops Pinterest has compiled? Never used a Pinterest Shop before? Don’t worry, it literally couldn’t be easier. Just head to your shop of choice, click into a pin that appeals to you, and you’ll be directed straight to the online shop where you can purchase whatever product struck your fancy through said shop directly.
Online shopping has become a major pass-time for me during quarantine (whether my budget likes it or not.) Having Pinterest curate a whole shop dedicated to supporting Black businesses while highlighting must-have products? I’m all in.
For even more Black-owned businesses you can support, check out our article on 10 Black-Woman-Owned Instagram Shops – don’t be shy, hit add to cart!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sophia Pelosi is the Associate Marketing Manager at BlogHer, as well as a contributing author and editor for BlogHer.com. She’s based in New York City, and is passionate about pasta from scratch, daily meditation, the state of Maine, 70s disco fashion and her beagle Lucy. The only commercials she likes are ones that make her laugh or cry, and she didn’t like reading Jane Eyre as much as she thought she would. Follow her on Instagram.