Uh oh. Chanel’s new $2,000 boomerang has come back to bite them. The company is facing a backlash after activists called out the product for being culturally insensitive towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The high-end fashion brand has claimed it is committed to respecting all cultures. Yet despite the controversy, it still stocks the product in stores.
Chanel’s boomerang is an example of how the history and intellectual property of Indigenous peoples are exploited for commercial gains.
Chanel is beginning to feel the pressure. If you speak up now with the SumOfUs community, together we could force Chanel to take this boomerang off its shelves for good.
Chanel: this boomerang is not yours to sell. Take it off your shelves now!
The fashion industry is no stranger to accusations of cultural appropriation -- and it needs to stop.
In 2012 Louis Vuitton created a men’s collection inspired by north African Maasai clothing, while just this year model Karlie Kloss came under criticism for ‘yellow facing’ for a geisha-themed shoot with Vogue magazine.
Chanel has issued a half-hearted response to its own controversy. It said it is “extremely committed to respecting all cultures and deeply regrets that some may have felt offended.”
This isn’t good enough.
Matthew Rimmer, a professor at the Queensland University of Technology, has called on the company to apologise fully. "As a good corporate citizen, Chanel should… withdraw the boomerang from sale, and make appropriate reparations to Australia[‘s] Indigenous communities."
Recently, fashion retailer ASOS subjected its staff to mass surveillance, and over 27,000 SumOfUs members came together to call them out. When the SumOfUs community -- made up of people like you -- speak up, the fashion industry pays attention.
Let’s tell Chanel we’re tired of the corporations appropriating cultures for a quick buck.
Chanel: respect the intellectual property of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Take your over-priced boomerang off the shelves now!
More information
Sydney Morning Herald. 15 May 2017.
New York Times. 16 May 2017.
