UK retailer Tesco accused of racism for burglar-proofing dark-skinned makeup
By: Ariel Z.
A British supermarket chain is under fire for locking up a makeup product for dark-skinned shoppers while the same line for lighter-skinned women was left without any security measures.
Natalie Westgate, a local mother of three, wandered into a Tesco location in West London last week and noticed the disparate security while browsing a shelf lined with Garnier SkinActive BB Cream products.
Westgate posted a photo showing the products that are traditionally marketed to minorities being encased in what appeared to be theft-proof containers.
Westgate tweeted: “@tesco can you please explain this? Do white people not steal then? Absolutely disgusting and not to mention racist!!!!”
Her tweet went viral and sparked widespread outrage.
Westgate then posted a reply from Tesco which read: “Thank you for taking the time for getting in touch.”
“I understand your [concern] and please let me reassure you that it is never our intention to offend anyone through the security tagging of our products.”
“Our stores may sometimes use security tags on items which have recently been subject to theft and the decision to do so changes from store to store.”
The supermarket chain added: “As a multicultural employer we are proud to service our local communities and play a part in those communities.”
“We want to ensure that Tesco is a place where everyone feels welcome. We work hard to create an inclusive environment by training our colleagues working with our Race and Ethnicity network and Black Voices Advisory Group to help us identify areas we might need to improve.”
“Again, we would like to reassure you that the steps we take across our stores to box or tag certain items are for loss prevention reasons only and our colleagues will be happy to help customers who wish to buy these products.”
Westgate rejected Tesco’s claims, telling The Sun newspaper: “I’m just disgusted, it’s ok to try to say they are inclusive but only security boxing items for a certain demographic is just plain racist.”
A company spokesperson told The Sun: “We are deeply sorry that this has happened.”
“This was a case of human error in the store and these products should not have been security tagged.
“It’s really important to us that Tesco is a place where everyone feels welcome, and the tags have now been removed.”
British supermarkets as well as American retailers have struggled to cope with a sharp increase in the number of shoplifting incidents, particularly since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic
