Fenty Beauty: Social Media Ethics and More
Over the last couple of years, many companies have focused their efforts on creating a new code of conduct and ethical guidelines specifically for their social media platforms. Many beauty and makeup companies have an ethics guideline in place and it is structured to be more inclusive and aware of the progressive steps we are taking as a society. These general guidelines highlight how important it is to embrace and love yourself, and social media guidelines focus on being honest, real and trustworthy. One company that continues to break boundaries and set the bar for social media ethical practices is Fenty Beauty.
Rihanna launched a makeup line “so that people everywhere would be included,” focusing on a wide range of traditionally hard-to-match skin tones, creating formulas that work for all skin types, and pinpointing universal shades.Most importantly, Rihanna creates makeup to inspire: “Makeup is there for you to have fun with,” she says. “It should never feel like pressure. It should never feel like a uniform. Feel free to take chances, and take risks, and dare to do something new or different” (FentyBeauty.com).
“The 100% cruelty-free line actively targets diverse consumer groups who feel ignored by traditional beauty brands. Rihanna explained: “Fenty Beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures and races. I wanted everyone to feel included” (Peter, 2017).
It is important to note that Fenty Beauty has a target marketing audience of teen and millennial consumers with values of inclusivity, creativity and ethical responsibility. Keeping this in mind, we can come up with a list of social media ethical guidelines that Fenty Beauty can incorporate in their best practices today.
Ideal Social Media Ethics Guidelines for Fenty Beauty
- Honesty — You should always communicate in an open and honest manner. Many customers will have questions over social media, it is important to always answer honestly and be available to add feedback. (*Note: Please make sure that if you are responding to a customer more than two times, take the conversation to email or Direct Messages to provide an in-depth, personal and considerate response).
- Inclusivity — Fenty Beauty is inclusive and open to anyone and everyone. It is important to always be inclusive in social media messaging, images and sharing the opinions and stories of different consumers and followers on all Fenty Beauty social media platforms.
- Diverse Representation — With 40 different foundation shades and many more products designed for various skin-tones and people in general, Fenty Beauty really values diverse representation and makes products that promote the beauty of all individuals, no matter age, race, gender, skin-tone, hair color, etc. It is important to maintain the correct tone and voice when responding to customers, consumers and followers on Fenty Beauty social media channels. Accepting and open-minded always.
- Transparency — Always be transparent with customers over social media in regards to the brand, product and social media marketing.
- Respect — It is important to have the best intentions for the company and maintain a consistent and kind company voice and tone, as well as respecting the opinions of others.
- Fairness — It is important to promote free expression on all social media channels, but closely monitor and look out for any hate speech and comments that go against the company values and respect to all.
User-Generated Content Ethical Practices
- It is important to always ask permission before re-posting a user-generated produced image or video.
Permission Request Example: “Hi (insert name), We are loving you in this #FentyFace look, Do you mind if we re-post your image on our social media pages? If you agree, please respond “Yes, I give Fenty Beauty permission to re-post my image.” Thank you!”
2. Any time Fenty Beauty gifts product or pays an influencer to post using Fenty Beauty the Influencer must disclose if they were either #gifted or #ad. Please make sure this is disclosed before influencer posts with Fenty Beauty.
Although Fenty Beauty showcases their ethical practices on social media and through marketing, it is important to note the ethical standards and measures they are taking when it comes to supply chain and producing cruelty-free products.
Supply Chain Transparency
“Fenty Beauty LLC (“Fenty Beauty”) is committed to conducting business in a legal, ethical and responsible manner. We expect our suppliers to respect and adhere to the same business philosophy in the operation of their businesses.
Fenty Beauty shares with, and expects its direct product suppliers to adhere to and to implement, our Supplier’s Code of Conduct, which addresses working conditions for suppliers and specifically prohibits the use of involuntary or forced labor, human trafficking, child labor, and harassment and abuse.
Fenty Beauty has communicated and will continue to communicate the requirements of our Supplier’s Code of Conduct to its direct suppliers to ensure that materials incorporated into our products comply with all applicable laws regarding slavery and human trafficking.
We do not currently engage in audits of our suppliers in this respect. However, we will consider measures such as auditing or third party verification for any suppliers we determine to be in significant risk of violating our Supplier’s Code of Conduct. If we suspect a supplier is involved in these activities, we will conduct an inquiry. In the event that a potential violation of human rights is identified, Fenty Beauty will promptly address the issue with the supplier and set expectations for how the situation is to be addressed. If a non-compliance issue is not resolved in a timely manner, then Fenty Beauty will re-evaluate its business relationship with the supplier, up to and including termination of the business relationship.
Fenty Beauty maintains internal accountability standards and procedures for employees and contractors who fail to meet our standards, including but not limited to prohibitions against slavery and trafficking.
Fenty Beauty provides training to ensure that our employees with direct responsibility for product supply chain management are knowledgeable and aware of the issues and concerns surrounding the supply chain, including mitigating the risk of human trafficking and slavery” (FentyBeauty.com)
Cruelty- Free Guidelines
“Fenty Beauty is a cruelty-free brand. We never test products or ingredients on animals, nor do we allow suppliers or affiliates to conduct testing on our behalf” (FentyBeauty.com).
Fenty Beauty emphasizes the power of being diverse and how beautiful it is to be different. This modern-day approach has paved the way for many more beauty brands to follow in their footsteps and realize the large responsibility they have to be ethical, honest and transparent to their consumers.
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