L'Oréal Found Guilty of Racism, Kate Winslet & Clive Owen Under Pressure to Cancel Contracts with Cosmetics Giant {The 5th Sense in the News}
This is a belated report on a racism law-suit brought against l'Oréal's Garnier label by SOS Racisme to establish that they had practiced systematic racial discrimination when recruiting personnel. Garnier was recognized guilty by a French court through a historic ruling.....
Because Lancôme is part of the same l'Oréal group, SOS Racisme is putting pressure on Kate Winslet and Clive Owen to forsake their contracts with Lancôme for the new Trésor perfume advertising campaign due to start this fall. Speaking of discrimination based on idealized societal representations, Kate Winslet had previously agreed to star in the ad provided her generous curves would not be photoshopped.
In July 2000, a fax detailing the profile of hostesses sought by L'Oréal stipulated women should be 18 to 22, size 38-42 (UK size 10-14) and "BBR", the initials for bleu, blanc, rouge, the colours of the French flag. Prosecutors argued that BBR, a shorthand used by the far right, was also a well-known code among employers to mean "white" French people and not those of north African, African and Asian backgrounds. [....]
One woman working in the recruitment firm involved said foreign-sounding names or photos showing a candidate was of Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian or other African origin would ensure candidates were eliminated. Another said: "I once had a good woman candidate but she was non-white. I had to ask someone to pretend that our list was full. It was hard."
Photos are from celebrity.rightpundits.com
Previous Posts in The Fifth Sense in the News:
Requiem for Theresa Duncan of The Wit of The Staircase
LVMH is Prosecuting eBay & Forbidding Vendors to Sell Their Fragrances
| Permalink
Digg This
Stumble
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Comments
If this is actually happening it is sad...and if it is reason for Winslet and Owen withdrawing, it would be rather anticlimactic. (I really liked the Winslet ads...)
One minor comment: size 38-42 (UK 10-14) sounds rather "real", which is encouraging.
Posted by: helg | July 25, 2007
Apparently, yes, it was established to have taken place.
Even if they are not requiring personnel to be a model's size, they are establishing parameters of physical discrimination and excluding people who might be slimmer or bigger. Moreover, setting (narrow) age criteria is not wholesome either. It all goes together.
Posted by: Marie-Helene | July 25, 2007
You're right...And it is a shame. Wish companies had broader-minded mentality: it would garner them more customers in the end!
Posted by: helg | July 26, 2007
I know this sounds cliche, but really, in the real world everyone is actually of different colour, size, and shape, so why is it that cosmetic industries are only targeting ONE type of body shape, size, and colour? I just don't understand it.
The world is like a variety of fruits in one basket. Why should they only show the grapes? (I apologize if it's a bad analogy!)
Posted by: Shara | August 1, 2007