Brownwashing, advertising and consumption – 06/13/2023 – Policies and Justice

Racism, whether veiled or explicit, is still a commonplace situation in consumer relations, in which black consumers are victims of prejudice even before purchasing a product or service, that is, still in the offer phase, in the pre-contractual phase .

Just as it has happened with greenwashing, in which companies, through inadequate strategies, promote speeches and publicity involving sustainability, without supporting or proving such conduct, there has been an advertising movement called brownwashing – a term in English used for publicity. of companies that appear to support black people, without, in fact, implementing anti-racist measures.

That is, in the first situation we have discriminatory advertising itself, which excludes or relegates blacks as potential consumers of that product or service. In the second, we have a false impression that a certain company is concerned with supporting the anti-racist cause.

In both situations, the vulnerability of the consumer, as a black person, is accentuated and is divided into two aspects: the cooling of his existential capacity and the need for suppliers who, not infrequently, place black people in a condition of invisibility in relation to their products. and services, trying to profit from causes and social problems, instead of seeking measures to eradicate such conduct and actually support the anti-racist struggle.

It is essential to understand that the situations are alarming, and it is essential that companies become aware that blacks still suffer the effects of centuries of racism in society and that such practices and advertising are abusive under the terms of the Consumer Protection Code.

In addition, the practice of brownwashing offends the dignity of the human person, and it is worth remembering that any company that adheres to good ESG practices in its culture cannot condone any discriminatory and/or racist conduct and also try to profit, exaggeratedly and improperly , with the cause appearing to support blacks or other non-white ethnic groups only through marketing discourse and without any effective measures in their corporations, that is, without commitment and coherence.

Regarding the subject, it is worth highlighting some Guidelines to Combat Racism in Consumer Relations, provided for in the recent technical note nº 14/2023/CGEMM/DPDC/SENACON/MJ from SENACON. In this case, item four deals with non-racist advertising communication, in the following terms: “Product and service providers must adopt non-racist communication in advertising campaigns and the use of stereotypes must not be accepted, as well as the promotion of products or services that reinforce this condition, always meeting the ethnic-racial diversity present in consumer relations”.

Item ten of the aforementioned Technical Note addresses the promotion of affirmative action: “Product and service providers and protection agencies must promote affirmative action to promote equality and combat racial discrimination in consumer relations”. However, it is paramount that affirmative actions are effective and proven and do not become another brownwashing problem.

Therefore, when we talk about inclusion and diversity in consumer relations, it is imperative that companies adopt adequate and effective measures to avoid discriminatory advertising and the unfair impression of blacks in the consumer market, guaranteeing dignified and equal treatment, avoiding a serious reputation problem.

The editor, Michael França, asks each participant of the space “Politics and Justice” of the Sheet suggest a song to the readers. In this text, the one chosen by Ederson Chaves was “Negro é Lindo” by Jorge Bem Jor.

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