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Merchant Joe’s issued a secondary response to a petition alleging that its product labels are racist, rather than saying it does not change its naming conventions on online petitions asking them to.
Merchant Joe’s issued a secondary response to a petition alleging that its product labels are racist, rather than saying it does not change its naming conventions on online petitions asking them to.
Photo: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press
Merchant Joe’s issued a secondary response to a petition alleging that its product labels are racist, rather than saying it does not change its naming conventions on online petitions asking them to.
Merchant Joe’s issued a secondary response to a petition alleging that its product labels are racist, rather than saying it does not change its naming conventions on online petitions asking them to.
Photo: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press
Following criticism of a petition that deemed product names “racist” a few weeks ago, Trader Joe’s offered an insight into its product naming process, stating that it disagreed with the claim that its products should be interpreted. as racists.
“A few weeks ago, an online petition was launched asking us to ‘remove racist packaging from [our] products. “The following were inaccurate reports that the petition prompted us to take action,” reads a statement posted on Trader Joe’s website on July 24. “We want to be clear: we disagree that none of the these labels are racist. We don’t make decisions based on requests.
“We make decisions based on what customers buy, as well as feedback we receive from our customers and crew members,” the statement continued. “If we believe there is a need for change, we do not hesitate to take action.”
The company went on to explain that it “constantly reassesses[s]“its products to“ ensure that it makes sense for our business and aligns with customer expectations. ”In a product evaluation two years ago, the company stated that it had made the decision to discontinue items and product names that were not customer-related or didn’t sell well (“It’s something we do,” the website noted).
The supermarket chain also reiterated the fact that their product names, citing Trader Giotto’s, Trader Ming’s, and even a mathematically-themed product name, “Avocado Number,” were meant to “be fun and show appreciation for others. cultures”.
Previously, in response to initial requests for comment when the request first circulated online, Trader Joe’s took a different tone in product names, initially claiming that naming conventions “may have originated in a light-hearted attempt to inclusion “and recognizing that it may not be as it is taken today.
“… [W]We recognize that it can now have the opposite effect, one that is contrary to the welcoming and rewarding experience we strive to create every day, “said Kenya Friend-Daniel, national director of public relations for Trader Joe’s, in that statement prior to SFGATE
“With this in mind, we made the decision several years ago to use only the Trader Joe name in our products in the future,” the statement continued. “Since then, we have been in the process of updating old labels and replacing any variations with the Trader Joe’s name, and we will continue to do so until we complete this important work.”
Oakley’s Briones Bedell, 17, is the author of that original petition online, and in an interview with The Chronicle he detailed some of his reasoning behind the petition.
“… I think the central theme at the heart of all this is that when a community is not allowed to control its representation, harmful stereotypes and cartoons are allowed to perpetuate themselves,” Bedell told The Chronicle. “I think we can derive and apply some of the lessons learned within the sphere of intangible cultural content protection to other cases of cultural insensitivity, as in the case of Trader Joe’s ethnic food brand with these names as Trader Ming’s, Trader Jose, Thai Joe’s, etc. “
“I felt the brand was callous, and when you put it in this broader context of Trader Joe’s corporate brand philosophy, it becomes more apparent that there is a real problem of systemic or institutional racism rather than just tone deafness,” added later. (The full interview can be read here).
Bedell addressed Trader Joe’s initial response to the request in his own words here, commenting on the company’s latest statement, characterizing the responses as “contradictory” and asking the company to “clarify which ethnic brand products will be modified.” .
In fact, in its post last week, Trader Joe’s did not mention progress made or future plans to get rid of specific product names, instead saying it heard from customers that product names “were largely seen exactly the way they were intended – as an attempt to have fun with our product marketing. “
The latest and complete statement from Trader Joe’s can be found here.
Dianne de Guzman is the editor of Food + Drink at SFGATE. Email: [email protected]
