The road to a more inclusive beauty industry runs through Ulta. The company announced today, February 1, a series of "Inclusion and Diversity Commitments" that will help more Black-owned beauty brands, and sees actress Tracee Ellis Ross become an integral part of the initiative.
Ulta revealed in a press release that as part of a pledge to celebrate and support the impact of underrepresented brands in the beauty industry, the company will allocate $20 million towards "creating more personal connections with LatinX, Black, and other communities," as Nylonreports.
Additionally, by the end of this year, Ulta pledges to double the number of Black-owned beauty brands that it has in stores and $4 million will go toward marketing support for Black-owned brands.
Ross is joining Ulta as the diversity and inclusion advisor for the initiative. She is set to provide insight and counsel and will focus on the development of BIPOC brands. "I look forward to formalizing an already existing dialogue and partnership around diversity and inclusion with Mary Dillon and the Ulta Beauty team," said Ross in a statement.
"This work requires commitment and accountability from Ulta Beauty to ensure measurable goals are achieved," she continued."I am hopeful and optimistic our work together will create foundational change."
Lastly, Ulta debuted a new platform called MUSE, which stands for Magnify, Uplift, Support and Empower, to promote Black voices in beauty. Its first video features Cosmopolitan's Beauty Director Julee Wilson, Shea Moisture CEO Cara Sabine and three Black beauty brand owners, showcasing the power of their brands.
Photo via Getty/ Kwaku Alston