I recently came a cross a post about the new MAC fall collection a collaboration with RODARTE. As I started to read I was in shock to find out that they had chosen names such as "Ghost Town", "Badland", "Juarez" and "Factory" these names are anything but appealing, what was MAC thinking?? Kate & Laura (founders of RODARTE) where inspired by a road trip they took to the Texas-Mexico border and stopped in Ciudad Juarez where they where inspired by "lines of women workers making their way to factory jobs in the middle of the night," according to a company press release, which is crazy to me because when I think of Juarez which is one of the most violent cities in Mexico. I think of all those young women (ages 12-22) that work at the maquiladoras and have to walk early in the morning and late at night to get to and from work and are at risk of being abducted, raped, and brutally murder. If you haven’t heard since 1993 there has been a reported 500 (though locals estimated around 5,000) victims all young women that where kidnapped,raped and murder && many more cases are still unsolved today! I have no words as to describe this poor decision made by MAC && RODARTE.
Two weeks ago MAC sent out a press release stating they will be donating $100,000 to a foundation to help the women of Juarez. But they have released another statement. Stating that all profits from the collection will go to a “newly created initiative to raise awareness and provide support to the women of Ciudad Juarez.”
There was a meeting last week in Mexico City with MAC executives and Mexican government officials, including CONAVIM (Comisión Nacional Para Prevenir y Erradicar la Violencia Contra las Mujeres/National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women.)
During the meeting, held at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this collective group committed to working together on the overall direction of the new initiative to help the women and girls of Juarez and to raise global awareness of their plight. MAC executives reiterated their deep regret and reinforced that it was never MAC’s or Rodarte’s intent to minimize the suffering of the women and girls of Ciudad Juarez.
In the coming weeks, MAC and Rodarte will be consulting with members of CONAVIM´s advisory board, as well as other local and global experts, to develop a comprehensive framework that provides grants to local and international organizations with a track record of improving the lives of the women and girls in Juarez.“We are deeply sorry and apologize to everyone we offended, especially the victims, the women and girls of Juarez and their families. We have heard the response of concerned global citizens loud and clear and are doing our very best to right our wrong. The essence of MAC is to give back and care for the community and our initial handling of this makeup collection was not reflective of MAC’s values. MAC and Rodarte are committed to using these learnings to raise awareness on this important issue and to leverage our unique platform to help the women and girls of Juarez,” said MAC President John Demsey."
I personally will not be buying from this line, which I hope will not be released.
I have found a website that list some charities that help the women of Juarez. (listed below)
To learn more visit this websites:
http://www.womenontheborder.org/ (make sure to sign the petition)
Pinksith ( who did an AMAZING blog on this issue)
http://dartcenter.org/content/women-juarez-9
<3 Z
Very interesting and great post!!
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