On the 28th of June, 1969, New York police raided The Stonewall Inn, a popular queer bar in Greenwich VIllage. The response was an uprising from the LGBTQIA+ community, who fought back during a series of riots that lasted several nights. Their courage sparked a movement that has changed the landscape of LGBTQIA+ rights.
Now, Pride Month serves as a powerful reminder of the community’s resilience, progress, and ongoing struggle for equality. Many businesses show up in support of Pride every year. Whether through donations to LGBTQIA+ organisations or ongoing projects to help break barriers for underrepresented communities—every action is a signal of allyship.
In this article, we’re highlighting ecommerce brands who are actively making moves to support and improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ people around the world. Hopefully, their work can spark some great ideas for your brand too. 🌈
5 brands that actively support the LGBTQIA+ community
When you authentically support Pride, you’re supporting the fight for equality. Here are 5 brands that actively support and champion the LGBTQIA+ community.
1. Happy Socks - design Pride-themed products
Depending on the type of product you sell, it could be relatively easy for you to create designs that celebrate Pride. These could be special edition products with proceeds going to a Pride or LGBTQAI+ organisation of your choice.
Take Happy Socks who sell beautiful socks featuring eye-catching designs that promote happiness. They regularly design special edition products to promote different causes. These rainbow socks are inspired by the Progress Pride Flag designed by Daniel Quasar and 10% of the proceeds go to charity. 🌈
Key takeaway: Celebrate Pride month by creating fun, special edition designs for your products - and make sure proceeds go towards a LGBTQIA+ organisation of your choice. Here’s a list of UK-based organisations that your brand could donate to.
2. Ratchet Clothing - promote underserved LGBTQ+ communities
Pride supports people from the entire LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Your brand can do the same by being inclusive to all communities. Take Ratchet Clothing, the unisex clothing brand that aims to create t-shirts that everybody can feel comfortable in.
Their tie dye t-shirts make sure to incorporate people from all identities including asexual, non-binary and trans. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Key takeaway: Don’t forget to celebrate all identities. If you can’t create a product specifically for Pride, you could donate to an organisation that supports underrepresented communities.
3. GC2B - donate your products
Does your brand sell a product that could help people during the Pride celebrations? Why not donate!
GC2B, for example, is a DTC brand that sells binders for trans men pre-surgery. These help people flatten their chests and offer an alternative to top surgery.
GC2B partners with organisations all over the world and regularly donates binders to help lower the barrier to access gender and life affirming binders. Check out their Philanthropic program that shows all the work they’ve already done to help 260+ communities around the globe.
Key takeaway: As well as donating money to LGBTQIA+ causes, you could donate some of your products. For example, items like costumes, make-up or refreshments, might come in handy for people during Pride celebrations. Alternatively, if you sell life-affirming products like binders, donating these can go a long way to supporting people in the long-term.
4. MAC - be a platform for good
As a growing business, you have a unique opportunity to cement your brand's values and strive to make a positive impact in the world from the outset. Many challenger brands base their entire product and mission around the causes they believe in.
Take the popular makeup brand MAC cosmetics. They’re well-known for their long-standing support of marginalised communities.
For Pride Month, they run the ‘Mac Loves Pride’ campaign that promotes their long-standing partnerships with LGBTQIA+ organisations. For this, they partner with queer influencers and amplify queer voices from around the world. For the consumer, they offer make-up lookbooks to help people show off their authentic selves.
Key takeaway: As a brand, you hold real power in the world. Do something good with it by supporting causes you truly care about. This could be as easy as creating Pride products collections on your website to encourage your customers to celebrate with you.
5. Jecca Black - remove gender bias from your marketing
Some products are historically associated with a particular gender. Makeup, for example, is stereotypically aimed at cis and trans women. Being able to break down these stereotypes and market products to a more inclusive audience is a great way to show your support for the LBGTQIA+ community.
Brands like Jecca Blac, a cruelty-free makeup brand, create gender-free cosmetics that aim to empower everybody to feel their best self. Jecca Blac breaks boundaries by showing that there’s really no reason for makeup to be marketed at a specific gender.
Key takeaway: Consider removing gender bias in your marketing. If you sell beauty products, think about why your images and copy might be geared towards women. Consider the ways you could broaden it to include a more diverse audience.
How your brand can support the LGBTQIA+ community this Pride 💕
Now you’ve seen how other brands do it, it’s time to take action. Here are some things to bear in mind as you create your Pride campaigns.
- Action speaks louder than a logo: This is obvious, but simply sticking a Pride flag on your social media profile and doing nothing is disingenuous. Take real action. For example, you could donate to an organisation or amplify the voices of your LGBTQIA+ colleagues or customers.
- Educate your audience: Use your marketing channels to educate your audience about LGBTQIA+ issues. Share information, resources, and stories that promote understanding and empathy.
- Collaborate with LGBTQIA+ creators: Partner with LGBTQIA+ influencers, content creators, and artists to co-create content. This not only provides authentic perspectives but helps you reach a broader audience.
- Use inclusive language and imagery: Be mindful of the language and imagery you use in your marketing. Use gender-neutral language, avoid stereotypes and ensure you’re featuring diverse representations of LGBTQIA+ people in your campaigns.
- Support beyond Pride month: Make sure you’re creating the type of brand that LGBTQIA+ people can be a part of every day. That means not just sticking a Pride flag on your logo and posting a couple of quotes on your social feed. Instead, continuously check your language and visual imagery to make sure you’re being inclusive; donate to LGBTQIA+ organisations and show up for your queer colleagues.
The LGBTQIA+ community needs your support all year round, not just for Pride month.
In aid of Pride, Dash are donating £500 to Galop, who support LGBTQIA+ people who’ve experienced domestic abuse, sexual violence, hate crimes or conversion therapy. We’re also selling special edition Dash t-shirts on our merch store, designed by our UX Designer, Ben. All proceeds will go to Galop. 💕
Amy Burchill is the SEO and Content Manager for Dash. She works with ecommerce experts to create articles for DTC brands wanting to improve their campaigns.
