In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, there has been a great divide between what is essential and what is not.
Soap, sanitizer and all things sudsy under my kitchen sink definitely qualify as essential. But the nail polish, styling tools and scrunchies stashed under my bathroom vanity? Sadly not.
As a result of their new reality, an interesting collection of Canadian fashion and beauty companies, whether they have ceased production altogether or pivoted business operations, are stepping up to shrink down the adverse effects caused by COVID-19.
Giving back with purpose is already part of Upfront Cosmetic’s brand. Committed to the environment, each of its shampoo or conditioner bars replaces up to three bottles of packaged alternatives, minimizing waste and ecological impact. The company’s orders are also shipped in plastic-free and compostable mailers.
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Now, it is taking that same commitment to helping families in need during this crisis. For every single shampoo or conditioner bar purchased through the brand’s website, it will donate one back to a Boys and Girls Club across Canada.
“In a time with so much uncertainty, we want to provide families with [bit of] peace of mind, knowing we are here to support them,” says Alicia Sharp, founder and owner of UpFront Cosmetics.
“We believe amazing things can happen when we care for each other … Now, more than ever, we see the effects and importance of that, which is why we created our Care Crate,” say Alora May and Veronica May, founders and owners of Sam & Lance. (The company is named after their two grandmothers.)
A Care Crate is a self-care kit with products from Canadian female-owned, sustainable brands with goodies like essential oils, lip balms, magazines and more, inspired by their paternal grandmother, Shirley Ann May (she’s the “Sam” in “Sam & Lance”), who was a volunteer at a local hospital for 40 years. They saw the tremendous impact she had working in the hospital and the cheer she brought to those in need.
Now they want to do their part for those on the frontline. For every Care Crate purchased from Sam & Lance, a second Care Crate is donated to a frontline health-care worker on the purchaser’s behalf.
2:18 Coronavirus: Hair stylists warn against do-it-yourself ‘dos, worry about future of industry
Coronavirus: Hair stylists warn against do-it-yourself ‘dos, worry about future of industry
Beauty behemoths like LVMH, L’Oréal and Estee Lauder are among those producing hand sanitizers in response to the shortage of medical supplies and equipment around the world. But they aren’t the only ones.
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“As soon as we realized how much this health crisis had put a strain on those frontline workers in the health-care system, we wanted to do something,” says Jackie McClements, a vice president with Monat Canada. “This is exactly what our Disaster Relief Kits were designed for, and sending them to hospitals across Canada was an easy decision as a small way to help.”
Monat has donated Disaster Relief Kits to several hospitals across Canada and will be donating hand sanitizers to a number of Canadian organizations in need, including the Salvation Army Winnipeg, Kelowna Gospel Mission, and Toronto police.
In total, the beauty brand has produced over 240,000 units of hand sanitizer that will be distributed to hospitals, frontline workers, and customers across North America.
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At-home beauty hacks: expert advice for hair and makeup
Toronto-based Nudestix is taking an innovative approach to giving back. “We’re hosting live masterclasses on our IG platform every Sunday and Wednesday with global celebrity makeup artists and Tier 1 makeup influencers,” says Christopher Mello, media and social community manager at Nudestix.
Proceeds from all the sales during this period are donated to the World Health Organization, he adds. If the talent donates proceeds from the masterclasses, Nudestix will match it. It’s also donating 20 per cent of all proceeds from sales of their latest ‘Sun & Sea Palette’ launch to WHO.
And of course, there’s MAC Cosmetics. Though bought by beauty giant Estee Lauder in 1996, we can never forget MAC Cosmetics’ humble Canadian beginnings. It was literally created in the kitchens of beauty salon owner Frank Angelo and photographer Frank Toskan to fulfill their professional makeup needs.
Now one of the top three global brands, MAC is giving back to the world. Through its enduring Viva Glam campaign, MAC will distribute $10 million to 250 local organizations across the globe supporting COVID-19 relief efforts.
For every Viva Glam lipstick purchased, 100 per cent of proceeds goes to various local organizations.
Canada Goose’s manufacturing facilities in Toronto and Winnipeg will begin making scrubs and patient gowns to be distributed to hospitals across the nation. The company has also donated RMB $1 million to the Wuhan Charity Federation to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak. (RMB is the official currency in China, the donation equates to roughly CDN$200,000).
Canadian apparel and accessories brand Aritzia is donating 20 per cent of online sales to a fund that will go to team members and employees of its overseas partners impacted by COVID-19. It has already raised $3 million.
Intimate apparel brand Knix is providing PPE to healthcare facilities across Canada.
“The Knix PPE campaign was created after I had chatted with my brother, who is a doctor at a hospital in Hamilton,” says Joanna Griffiths, founder and CEO of Knix.
Her brother told her about the shortage of personal protective equipment in Canada. “We knew we had to do something to help bridge inventory gaps while the government put in place some more significant programs. Luckily, we were able to act quickly with our suppliers and have secured over 330,000 units of PPE and 1,200 L of hand sanitizer,” Griffiths says.
They have also provided PPE to over 50 homeless shelters in the GTA, Griffiths adds.
There are also numerous independent brands like KaelaKay, Aleur, Dotty, With Love Lingerie and many others across the country making non-surgical PPE masks to help the community and frontline workers.
The beauty service industry has been hit particularly hard, with personal care services like makeup, hair, nail, waxing and lash services among those that have been forced to close for the unforeseeable future.
I’ve caught myself in a cloud of guilt at times, as I ponder such frivolous things like my grey roots growing in, my poorly plucked eyebrows, or my badly chipped nails.
But I’ve come to understand that grieving for the mass devastation, worrying about the uncertainty of the world (including my own financial and emotional uncertainties), while also taking some time for self-care, and enjoying simple moments of joy, don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
I hope that hitting the pause button has shown many of us to be kinder to each other — and ourselves.
Meera Estrada is a cultural commentator and co-host of kultur’D! on Global News Radio 640 Toronto.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
