Beauty’s Muted Response to the Hamas Terrorist Attacks
Six days after Hamas’ horrific terror attacks on Israel, many major players in the beauty — and overall fashion — industry have remained largely silent in support of the victims on both sides of the conflict.
As of press time, beauty’s largest manufacturers, including L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, The Estée Lauder Cos., Kering and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton had yet to issue any public statements condemning the attacks. All declined to comment or could not be reached for this story.
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This stands in contrast to other industries that have denounced the attacks and voiced support for both Israeli and Palestinian victims. Sports leagues such as the NFL and MLB and NBA team Miami Heat; celebrities including Kim Kardashian, LeBron James, Gigi Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Jessica Alba, Bono and Victoria Beckham; tech giants including Google and Microsoft, and fashion brands such as Stella McCartney and LoveShackFancy have all posted statements on social media.
“I have always been proud that the beauty industry has been at the forefront of social justice and activism. As a human being, I’m disappointed by the overwhelming silence about the terrorist attacks and I hope the beauty industry will speak up,” said Natasha Cornstein, chief executive officer of Blushington.
Earlier this week, the retailer released a statement on Instagram that read, “The Hamas attack of Israel sparked senseless violence and hundreds of lives lost. Blushington stands with the people of Israel.”
Cornstein is one of only a handful of beauty executives who has spoken out publicly. Both Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow have posted messages of support, with a post reading, “It is up to all of us to unequivocally denounce the atrocities that are happening in Israel and Palestine. As we mourn the innocent lives lost to terrorism and conflict, it’s our fervent hope that the world will find a better path.”
K18’s Suveen Sahib posted a graphic of a Magen David with K18 #I-Stand-With-Israel.
Conversely, after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked a renewed call for social justice, most beauty companies were public in their support of the Black Lives Matter movement and explicit in their commitments to achieve equity. Similarly, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, every major company severed official business ties there.
Industry analysts who spoke not for attribution noted that the complicated politicization of the current crisis has deterred companies from weighing in, noting the difficulty in speaking out against the violence whilst also maintaining support for innocent Israelis and Palestinians.
“Some people might be concerned about speaking up after everything that happened with Anheuser-Busch, Target and Disney. They don’t want to put themselves into that position,” said Wendy Liebmann, founder of WSL Strategic Retail. “Or they could be so stunned by it they don’t know what to say. But for an industry that has been much more engaged in social, economic and political issues, the quiet is a little surprising.”
Moreover, she pointed out that it’s not just external-facing communications. It’s internal too. “How do you engage with the people in your company who may be impacted?” Liebmann said. “That’s probably even more important than an external statement — the question is how do you take care of your people internally who are effected by this? We forget it’s the ordinary folks who are hurt the most and how do we help them?”
Chanel seems to have found an answer to that in an internal memo to employees from executive chairman Alain Wertheimer and CEO Leena Nair that was circulated on social media, which read in part, “We have all been horrified and deeply saddened by the terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. The war and the humanitarian crisis that has ensued is a tragedy.” The memo said Chanel is donating $4 million to organizations working to provide humanitarian relief.
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