Feeling the pressure from the BLACK CONSUMER and after all the backlash, coffee giant Starbucks reverses policy on #BLACKLIVESMATTER attire in the workplace!
After receiving a torrent of social media backlash Thursday evening following a report that employees were banned from wearing clothing or accessories that mentions the Black Lives Matter movement, Starbucks announced Friday that not only would staffers be allowed to don BLM attire, the company would make 250,000 specialty shirts!
Buzzfeed first reported on Wednesday that the coffee chain would not allow its employees to wear Black Lives Matter clothing or accessories, and management justified the decision by saying that such items could be misunderstood and incite violence. While Starbucks has a policy against wearing personal, political or religious clothing or accessories, workers told Buzzfeed that the company hands out buttons and attire celebrating LGBTQ rights and marriage equality.
Now, Starbucks will be doing the same for Black Lives Matter. The chain will make 250,000 shirts with a design that includes “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace” available to workers in its company-owned cafes in the United States and Canada. The company said that it began planning to provide shirts for employees last week.
Until the shirts arrive, employees can wear pins or shirts to show support.
