Associates in Action
By Victor Montgomery
Associates in Action articles highlight CSG Associates’ philanthropic efforts and public-private partnerships throughout the states.
Endeavor, a CSG Associate, has partnered with Color Of Change, Joan Smalls, and the Black In Fashion Council through its subsidiary IMG to launch #ChangeFashion. This initiative aims to eradicate racism in the fashion industry, restore equity and advance racial justice. Announced in February 2021, #ChangeFashion emphasizes the need for companies to move beyond conversation and embrace structural change by acting.
IMG, the Black in Fashion Council and Joan Smalls combined their deep industry knowledge with Color of Change’s racial justice and corporate accountability expertise to create an industry-specific Roadmap with the following five universal actions:
- Invest in Black Talent and Careers to restore the dignity and presence of Black artists, models, designers, talent, and the diversity of coverage on Black life and culture.
- Commit to Transparent Reporting and Equal Representation of Black People for complete and accurate data collection on Black workers in the fashion industry at every level.
- Invest in Content That Advances Racial Justice by prioritizing accurate and authentic content about social issues and Black life as told by Black people.
- Invest in Black Safety by reassessing relationships with police and security within the industry.
- Invest in the Growth and Prosperity of Black Communities by investing in Black communities, promoting civic advocacy, and taking a stand on issues that affect Black people.
“In order to create real and lasting change, we must first identify the systems that cause inequity, exclusion and misrepresentation and then work to find solutions to fix the system. We’re proud to be partnered with Color of Change in building and providing individuals and companies practical tools for systemic change across the Fashion, Music and Entertainment industries,” according to Romola Ratnam, Senior Vice President of Social Impact at Endeavor.
The Roadmap and additional resources on #ChangeFashion can be found online at https://changeindustries.org/changefashion/.
ChangeFashion is the third entry into Color of Change’s multi-industry racial justice accountability franchise #ChangeIndustries. WME and Endeavor Content, sister companies to IMG within the Endeavor network, first partnered with Color of Change and Michael B. Jordan to release #ChangeHollywood in July of 2020. Color of Change announced the second initiative in partnership with Recording Academy® in December 2020.