BEAUTY
The Fall of Glossier
By: Alessandra Zurini
Glossier will need a lot more than The Perfecting Skin Tint to cover this one up. When Glossier first launched in 2014, it gained popularity instantly. You couldn't open Instagram without seeing Glossier merchandise featured in posts from influencers and celebrities. The well-recognized pink minimalistic packaging was hard to resist.
Glossier started with four products and quickly expanded its inventory as demand increased for more products. The e-commerce approach helped boost demand since you couldn’t go anywhere to purchase a Glossier product. Glossier also has its flagship stores in Atlanta, D.C., London, Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle, opening more in 2022. So how did Glossier go from being so beloved to being boxed out of the industry?
Former Glossier employees started an Instagram page called Outta The Gloss, where they could voice their concerns with the company and gain consumer support. The former employees spoke about the racist acts that were concealed by the company.
In one incident mentioned on the Instagram account, a customer grabbed a black employee by the face because she wanted to show off the employee's complexion to her friend. In another incident, a woman would repeatedly come into the store and use the term “illegals” to reference the Latinx employees.
These concerns were met with no action except for being told to “try and calm down” by management. A past consumer was astonished to hear that they didn’t do anything to rectify these discriminatory acts.
“I feel that brands who sweep employee concerns under the rug desperately need to re-evaluate what their goals are as a company,” she said. “Especially in this case, with issues on race and equality; to be able to ignore concerns coming from said employees is quite frankly a disgusting abuse of power.”
Many people I interviewed didn’t know that Glossier had any scandals, as Glossier evaded mainstream media for months.
With movements like “#MeToo” and Black Lives Matter being heavily present in the media, you would assume brands would want to be more supportive of their employees when they voice their concerns about harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Outta The Gloss also insisted Glossier establish specific reforms in their operations and treatment of staff. The list included many ideas to exercise change within the company, like an open Zoom call, a public acknowledgement of the issues glossier caused, quarterly company-wide anti-racism training, and retail employees having a role in the hiring process.
Once customers caught wind of these incidents, “#boycottglossier” started trending. That hashtag led to backlash and a loss of revenue for the company. Loyal customers took a stand against Glossier and stopped purchasing their products.
Another past Glossier user said, “Personally, I have never purchased anything first hand from Glossier; however, I have received some things as gifts, and had initially wanted to purchase more. As of now, it makes me feel a bit uneasy. I feel like I should be running background checks on the owners of the companies which I use day to day.”
Another consequence for Glossier was the resignation of the CEO, Emily Weiss. Weiss resigned in 2022 and was replaced by Kyle Leahy, who has been the Chief Compliance Officer for Glossier since 2021.
Many past consumers don’t think her resignation is a big enough step.
“I think at this point there have been so many issues and scandals come out from behind Glossier’s walls, and I don’t think that the CEO stepping down is enough,” said one former Glossier consumer. “If glossier wants to be as successful as they used to he, they need a major rebranding to come from someone with an inclusive and truthful mindset.”
A dedicated HR team that holds Glossier executives accountable would make a world of difference for Glossier moving forward. They could have addressed these concerns faster and prevented further events of discrimination. The arrival of a new CEO is a pivotal moment for Glossier to redefine how they want the media and consumers to perceive them.
As a past consumer, I hope they will address the issues within their company and reevaluate how they treat their employees.