When we started Sun & Swell, we set out with the values to do the best we could for the world and our community. As we’ve watched the events over the past several months unfold, we’ve taken a deep look at our company and ourselves, and we realized we need to do more.
We first need to be open and transparent about who we are as founders. Bryan and I are both white and have grown up with more opportunities than many people. We are actively learning about all the ways that racism has permeated our lives. We recently welcomed a new baby girl into the world, and we need to be sure she knows firsthand about the effects of systematic racism, and how we can do our part not just to help people of color but also to break down the very barriers that have held them back for so long.
While we know there is no perfect action right now, we see any action is better than no action. As a start, here’s what we’re doing:
- We're contributing financially:
- The first week in June, we donated 10% of all online sales to the NAACP legal defense fund.
- Indefinitely, we will be donating 10% of our sales from our Lactation Cookie Bites to the Black Mamas Matter Alliance
- We're amplifying black voices and speaking out. Instagram is our primary method to communicate with our customers, with almost 15K followers. In addition to using this channel to communicate our support for the black community, we're also:
- Incorporating more black women and men into our instagram feed and stories
- Showcasing black business owners
- We are working on updating our website photos and our broader content library to include BIPOC. Because we are a small business with very little budget for photo shoots, we are waiting to do this photo shoot until we get new packaging in September. We expect to have an updated content library / website photos by late September / early October.
- We will give all employees Juneteenth off starting in 2021.
- We're educating ourselves on the reality of racism in our county.
- We’re revisiting our hiring practices to address unconscious bias and ensure we have a diverse pool of employees
We will continue to provide updates in this area and welcome your comments and suggestions about how we can do more. If you have anything you'd like to share with us, please reach out at hello@sunandswellfoods.com
Black Lives Matter.
Kate Flynn, Co-founder & CEO