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Procter & Gamble is under fire for abusing te reo Māori and exploiting New Zealand’s image with its range of Kiwi Botanicals skincare products.
The American company, which owns brands such as Gillette, Pantene, Tampax and Braun, manufactures the Kiwi Botanicals range in the US for the Walmart supermarket chain.
Their marketing claims that the products use New Zealand mānuka honey “collected by the Māoris principle from the South Island”, without identifying a specific iwi.
It also refers to a Maori “tribe” instead of “iwi”.
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Kiwi expat Raewyn Honeycutt came across Kiwi Botanicals at a Walmart in Topeka, Kansas, and immediately questioned their authenticity.
“Māoris is not how the Maori would refer to themselves. Maori is plural and singular. I am not an expert on you in any way, but I was in school when it was introduced … and I don’t think Maori approved of this, ”she said.
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Raewyn Honeycutt says subtle clues told her something was “wrong” with the Kiwi Botanicals range.
“The subtle clues tell me something is wrong.”
Honeycutt had emailed Procter & Gamble to raise the issue, and several other kiwis questioned the company via the Kiwi Botanical Facebook page.
One called the use of the phrase “South Island Maori” as culturally offensive, while another asked the company to reveal which Maori “tribe” it was working with.
And why don’t you mention them on your website or social media? Are you really working with Maori or are you just saying it to get more mana for your products? “
Another said giving the impression that the product was made in New Zealand and using the name “Kiwi” was “basically exploiting our image.”
Procter & Gamble did not respond to Honeycutt’s email or any of the Facebook posts.
STUFF
The Canterbury Barkers salsa company has partnered with maōri tea champion Anton Matthews to promote the country’s indigenous language.
Stuff initial questions to the company was not recognized. Addressed again, a Procter & Gamble spokeswoman said Monday that the appropriate manager was on leave and another was being sought.
At the time of publication, no further comments had been received.
Attempts to contact Ngāi Tahu, the largest iwi on the South Island, were also unsuccessful.
Dr. Ella Henry, Associate Professor and Director of Maori Advancement at AUT, said she had nothing positive to say after visiting the Kiwi Botanicals website.
Maori who spoke te reo did not pluralize Maori and used a macron over the ‘a’, which was missing in some cases.
“So [there’s] little evidence of consultation with the Maori in that regard, ”he said.
“Let’s not even start with the spurious phrase ‘Maori principle’ without any reference to the iwi of the South Island.
“This sounds like a company capitalizing on New Zealand’s high and positive profile in the US.”
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Procter & Gamble is under fire for its misuse of the Maori language in the marketing of the Kiwi Botanicals range.
Dr. Steve Elers, a senior lecturer at Massey University’s School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, had a different opinion and said he no longer agreed with the idea of ”cultural appropriation.”
“I have no problem with anyone, anywhere in the world, using Maori names, images and other cultural signs.
“Previously, I thought it was ‘offensive’, but I no longer hold that opinion. I know a lot of Maori do it, and that’s okay: they can think and say it’s ‘cultural appropriation.’
Elers, a registered member of various iwi, said that if the South Island Maori had sustainably harvested mānuka honey, “then great.”
David Unwin / Things
Massey University professor Dr. Steve Elers says he no longer subscribes to the idea of ”cultural appropriation.”
“Jobs were created, transactions were made and everyone wins. Frankly, I don’t care who harvests it, but since they said ‘Māoris of the South Island’ I hope that’s true. “
Many known Maori leaders used the plural “Maori” and some even said “Maori” incorrectly, he said.
“I remember my own koro [grandfather] I would use the S and say ‘Maori’ as the older people of Pākehā say, when speaking in English. When he spoke in te reo, he pronounced ‘Maori’ correctly. “
Elers said his koro was fluent in reo and was more of a case of “accommodation theory”, when a person adjusts his speech to “suit” the person he is addressing.
“If he were alive today, he would be scolded by the young generation of ‘language cops.’
