There’s a common myth that the dollar moves through the Black community for only 6 hours, whereas the dollar stays in the Asian community for 20 days and in white communities for 17 days. A research team at Howard University debunked this notion as they found that the claim is unsubstantiated, as the government doesn’t produce statistics to complete these comparisons. In 2017, Black people are becoming entrepreneurs almost every day. The US Census Bureau’s 2014 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs surveyed 290,000 employers found that 2.1% of businesses with at least one Black employee is black-owned. In addition, 14% of those black-owned businesses were operating for less than two years total. Although the numbers are low, Black businesses are still growing. Add social media and online businesses, and I’m sure you’ll see an increase in this number.
Personally, I want to challenge this old trope for 10 days (the length until next payday so I can re-up). I want to see if it is possible to solely buy Black owned household items that I normally use such as soap, detergent, face wash, etc. It was difficult to find quality products, but I found a few that I feel have a mission we can get our dollars behind and should support:
Eben Natural Products: A goal of mine is to take better care of myself in a number of areas, especially my skin. I stumbled upon this brand and liked their vision and story. The founder immigrated to the US a few years ago, attended the University of Miami, and created a business for himself and his community. The vision of the company is to “provide black consumers with all-natural beauty products that inspire empower and celebrate their natural color”. I can personally attest to the quality of Eben’s products, as I was able to try out the full range, which currently consists of 3 complementary items. The company’s motto, “Rule Your Skin”, ties into the idea that it’s time for black consumers to take control over what goes on their skin – the body’s largest "organ".
True Detergent: I learned about this product on Instagram and saw a lot of positive reviews about it. Before purchasing, I did a little digging, and the story of this brand as well as their founders is pretty amazing. Three brothers from different walks of life working together to create a detergent that has no animal by-products and caustic ingredients? Talk about challenging norms! The detergent cleans easily and I rarely need fabric softener because it makes clothes feel soft and smell great. This is definitely an excellent product that easily rivals mainstream brands and one with a mission statement that I can get behind.
Urban Beard Butter: I’m not part of the #BeardGang and when the time comes, I’ll get there, but for now, I have to take care of this goatee! My facial hair has a tendency to be straggly and coarse, which doesn’t look great, especially when I don’t have a haircut. One of my good brothers recommended checking out this Brooklyn-based, Black-owned company, Urban Beard NY that produces beard butter for Black men. Today, the beard butter market is a growing trend and I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews for this product. I’m impressed by the softness and smell of my beard and even the growth in a relatively short period of time.
Coral Oral Toothbrushes: Honestly, I never thought I’d hear of a Black-owned tooth brush company. I just never thought about owning a toothbrush company. According to the Interwebs, this is the first black-owned toothbrush company and is one of the constantly high rated companies in oral hygiene so I had to try it out and it just so happens that I needed a new toothbrush. One might argue that a toothbrush is a basic commodity and differentiation is hard to accomplish. However, 2 factors sealed the deal for me: First, I read about the woman behind the product, the first African-American female dentist, Ida Gray Nelson AND secondly I saw a black model on the back of the product. I had never seen that! The bristles are soft enough not to cause damage on the enamel and the handle is durable. It certainly looks like I’ll get a lot of usage out of it.
These are all great products that I feel we should support not just by talking about it, but with our dollars. We need to put our money where are mouths are. We have to begin supporting our own businesses and those in our community. One of the best things to come out of the awards seasons a few months ago was the fact that so many people that look like us won awards and excelled in their craft. Representation matters and if we want more quality Black-owned products, we have to support the ones we have now!
