Target is rolling out a badge to highlight Black-owned brands

This is part of the company's efforts to support Black communities.

Only 7% of small businesses in the U.S. are owned by Black Americans, with the majority of companies being owned and run by white men. Experts say that overcoming structural racism and achieving economic equality for Black Americans will require thoughtful measures from both large corporations and individual consumers.

“The wealth gap is one of the reasons there are protests today,” Linwood Tauheed, president of the National Economics Association, told MarketWatch. “[W]e have lots of evidence that this economic system is not benefitting the majority of the population.”

As a way to support Black entrepreneurs, Target is now labeling products from Black-owned businesses with a special badge that reads “Black Owned or Founded Brand.”

Previously, Target began identifying vegan products or “clean” products with labels to help simplify the shopping experience, and this new “Black Owned” notification will now be included in these classifications. The badge is meant to help consumers make the conscious choice to support Black-owned companies whenever possible.

In the weeks following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Target committed to renewed efforts to support communities of color, including devoting more money to investing in Black-owned companies and assisting Black entrepreneurs in achieving long-term success.

Black-owned brands like Lip Bar and Alikay Naturals were featured in Target’s “Black Beyond Measure” initiative during Black History Month (February). Now, as customers are shopping in Target, these companies and other Black-owned brands will be quickly and easily identifiable.

If you are looking for other ways to support Black-owned businesses in your community, check out apps like Support Black Owned, which make it easy for you to locate Black companies in your region. The Official Black Wall Street app is another guide for helping you locate Black-owned companies, and it even offers the option to receive notifications when you’re nearing a Black-owned business.