MAC cosmetics and Rodarte are
under fire today from bloggers who are
shocked at the insensitive names of the cosmetics in the new collection. The collection echoes the fashion collection, which was inspired by the Mulleavy sisters' trip through Mexico and South Texas. They visited Juarez, Mexico, which is notorious for its criminal activity and its sweatshops which employ young women and teenagers. Many of these women have been raped and murdered and the police refuse to take action.
Jennifer Lopez made a movie called
Borderland about the subject, in which she played a reporter investigating the murders, so it's hardly a secret. The nail polishes have names like Juarez and Factory: it's incredibly insensitive.
The criticism has become so widespread that MAC and Rodarte had to issue statements:
From Mac:
We understand that product names in the MAC Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have brought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. MAC will give a portion of the proceeds from the MAC Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts.
From Rodarte:
Our makeup collaboration with MAC developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The MAC collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people in the areas that we traveled.
It's a PR disaster, that's for sure. It's a good thing that MAC is going to donate part of the proceeds to help those women. Amnesty International is probably the best way to help. MAC should make sure to publicize the charitable aspect of the collection: they certainly are good at that kind of thing. Viva Glam is a great example of this.
You can see a description of the products with photos at
Temptalia.
