boycott!

The luxury beauty & perfume brand, Guerlain, found themselves in a bit of trouble when , Jean Paul Guerlain, made a racial slur (insert the *n-word) during an interview on a French television station:
“I put myself to work like a [n-word]. I don’t know if the [n-words] have always worked hard, but…” ["Je me suis mis à travailler comme un nègre. Je ne sais pas si les Nègres ont toujours tellement travaillé mais enfin..."]"

Translated the word, negré, means anything from coon to negro to the n-word. Black Parisians didnt take too kindly to the master perfumer's remarks and called for a silent boycott of the LVMH-owned brand at their store on the Champes Elysses. "...He's denying the value of the work ofthe black man. We're fighting for a post-racial society..." was the remarks listed on the invitation to take part in the boycott. Guerlain closed their doors on Saturday, the day of the boycott, many people brought back their Guerlain products and the closing of the business caused them to lose money on an usuallybusy sales day. There was no violence in the large turnout and many promise to return next week to conintue their silent boycott of the brand. "It’s a real opportunity for a Black movement…because for many years Black people [in France] have been insulted and were pretty passive about it..."
LVMH has denounced all of Guerlain's statlements stating that they were “intolerable” and contradicted the “culture, values, and ethics practiced by the enterprise, which promotes the diversity of talents of all origins.”

thanks to claire @thefashionbomb for sharing this story