BOOHOO Group Bans the word "Oriental" From All Brands' Sites

After a successful meeting with Boohoo Group PLC, pointing out the problems with irresponsible/inaccurate labeling and using the word 'Oriental' to describe garments with vague Asian characteristics, the company has banned the word from all of their websites, which includes Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, MissPap, Nastygal, Karen Millen and Coast.

In case you need to find out about the origins of the word "Oriental", and the problems associated with using the word, please read here.

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After reaching out via email to Boohoo outlining the problems with the use of the word, the group engaged in a Zoom meeting with the Corporate Affairs Manager of the company. This included members Feiya Hu, Allie De Lacy, Caitriona De Lacy, Annie Hearn, and Can Tao. After hearing the points made about their clothing, the Boohoo representative made the following promises:

• Ban the word Oriental from their sites

• Look into retraining the staff who are responsible for sourcing and buying clothing designs

• Delete clothing items that are culturally appropriated

• Looking to diversify their team, including more media representation of ESEA (models and influencers)

There are currently no statistics for the ethnic diversity for the team at Boohoo Group PLC, but you will have a hard task finding any images of Asian (South Asian, Middle Eastern, Eastern OR Southeastern) models or brand ambassadors represented on social media. Asian representation in media is something that is rarely seen as it is (usually only shown if they have a minor role that fits a racial stereotype), and big brands that have such international reach and diverse clientele have a responsibility to represent ethnic minorities equally. The lack of diversity in media contributes to the already existing stereotype that Asians are undesirable.

Disappointingly, the email correspondence from Boohoo was very brief and informal. No care was taken into making sure the group was given credit or thanks for their hard work, time and emotional labour on a situation which has been an often frustrating and emotional issue for the wider ESEA community for a very long time. Sadly this is a common occurrence within activism, especially with the re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, where people expect people of colour (POC) to bear the responsibility of education, meanwhile expecting them to also be able to cope with their emotional burdens and traumas at the same time.

Final statement via email

People, especially big companies such as Boohoo, need to stop relying on the free labour of POC in what is essentially inclusivity equality and diversity consulting. POC should be paid for this service through employment solely for this purpose. Credit should at least be given to the people who have brought these issues to attention. In this case, Boohoo has not given any credit to the group for raising this issue and inciting change, have not issued any public statements and have not apologised for the upset they have caused through their irresponsible and misinformed decisions.

This is a big step, however the fight isn't over: the websites are still stocking multiple items that are a form of blatant cultural appropriation. Only the descriptions have changed but the items remain. Here are just a few examples:

Via PrettyLittleThing.com

In the near future we aim to tackle more fashion brands and also supermarkets, as Asian food aisles are still sometimes labelled under 'Oriental'. Further goals will be discussed in our next admin meeting for February.