Trader Joe’s Said It ‘Disagrees’ That Its Brand Labels Named In A Recent Petition Are Racist
Update, July 29, 2020 10:29 a.m.: Trader Joe's has clarified that it does not believe the labels on some of its international foods are racist after announcing that they have been in the process of swapping them out for years.
In a new statement posted last Friday, the brand said that it does not view these labels (such as "Trader Ming's" or "Arabian Joe," as used on its Chinese and Middle Eastern foods respectively, for example), as racist. They also said again that the decision to swap them out was not made in light of a recent petition, but that it was a process that had been previously started.
"A few weeks ago, an online petition was launched calling on us to 'remove racist packaging from [our] products.' Following were inaccurate reports that the petition prompted us to take action," the statement reads. "We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist. We do not make decisions based on petitions."
The statement went on to say that the label names were dreamt up to be "fun and show appreciation for other cultures," but that a few years back they were evaluating older products and "found that some of the older names or products just weren’t connecting or selling very well," so they decided to make a change.
"Recently we have heard from many customers reaffirming that these name variations are largely viewed in exactly the way they were intended—as an attempt to have fun with our product marketing. We continue our ongoing evaluation, and those products that resonate with our customers and sell well will remain on our shelves," they clarified.
You can read the entirety of their statement here.
Original, July 20, 2020 11:53 a.m.: An online petition calling for Trader Joe's to change some of the labels on its "ethnic" foods, has received a response from the chain, which says it had already made the commitment to swap them out.
The petition, called "Trader Joe’s: Remove Racist Packaging From Your Products," gained attention over the weekend and has already garnered more than 2,400 signatures as of this writing. The petition urges Trader Joe's to stop the practice of labeling "some of its ethnic foods with modifications of 'Joe' that belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes." As the petition points out, “Trader Ming’s” is seen on some of the store's Chinese food, “Arabian Joe,” on some of its Middle Eastern foods, “Trader José” is on some Mexican foods, “Trader Giotto’s” on some Italian food, and “Trader Joe San” is one some Japanese foods.
"The Trader Joe’s branding is racist because it exoticizes other cultures—it presents 'Joe' as the default 'normal' and the other characters falling outside of it—they are 'Arabian Joe,' 'Trader José,' and 'Trader Joe San,'" wrote the petition's author Briones Bedell, who identifies herself as a youth human rights activist and a California high school senior on her Twitter page.
Trader Joe's responded to the petition in a statement to ABC News, saying that the brand had already been actively swapping out the labels and that the ones still in stores are the result of older labeling.
"While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect—one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day," Kenya Friend-Daniel, a spokesperson for Trader Joe's, said in a statement to the outlet.
"We have been in the process of updating older labels and replacing any variations with the name Trader Joe's, and we will continue to do so until we complete this important work," Friend-Daniel continued: "At this time, I don’t have an exact date but we expect to have the work completed very soon. Packaging for a number of the products has already been changed, but there’s a small number of products in which the packaging is still going through the process."
Trader Joe's did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bedell issued an update on the petition:
We appreciate Trader Joe’s attention to these matters and ask that Trader Joe’s commit to a date in which the packaging changes will be completed. If a date cannot be established, we ask that Trader Joe’s immediately remove all products that the company recognizes have not been inclusive and have not cultivated a welcoming, rewarding customer experience.
The petition also called on Trader Joe's to explain what about the book White Shadows in the South Seas, as well as the Disney Jungle Cruise Ride, inspired the chain's founder Joe Coulombe. The brand mentions both as his inspiration for the brand's philosophy on its "Our Story" page.
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