The recent reigniting of the Black Lives Matter movement has caused many industries, brands and individuals to take a closer look at how they can be better allies to the black community as well as starting conversations on racial prejudice and bias.
A quick look at the world around us tells us that pretty much all industries can do better at supporting black individuals, communities and businesses, with the greeting card industry being no exception. If you’re a white person, it might not even be something that’s crossed your mind until you read this sentence, but the levels of representation of black people and culture depicted on greeting cards are shockingly low.
It just isn’t right that anyone shouldn’t be able to walk into a shop and immediately find a card that represents themselves and/or their recipient, but the fact of the matter is that it’s currently very hard to find greeting cards with a non-white person on the front in UK card shops.
There are, however, some fabulous black-owned greeting card brands out there that do depict black people and black culture wonderfully – one such line is Kitsch Noir, which has just started to be stocked at greeting card and gift shop chain Scribbler. Its founder, Cherelle, designs each card with the intention to represent the love, joy and humour within the black British experience and it has grown into a multi award-winning brand that’s now available nationwide.
Spending money with black-owned businesses is just one way to be a better ally to the black community, but as consumers it can certainly be a powerful one. From fashion to beauty brands to black business directories, there are a number of ways to spend your money more wisely – and shopping with the below greeting card brands are another way to do so.
9 brilliant black-owned greeting card brands
Kitsch Noir
Afrotouch Design
Ibere Apparel
Leanne Creative
Hood Greetings
Ionna Marie Designs
Colourshot Cards
Candy Rays
Nicola Lespeare
