We are in the middle of a horrible nightmare that involves all of us, and we need to wake up and work together. This hits us all on the climbOn team deep to the core, and we can’t be silent. This is not a political issue, and we cannot and will not stand by and leave it for someone else to fix. This is a human rights issue that all of us in the human race need to take responsibility for. We must address it, talk about it, learn from it, and act to do everything we can to fix what is obviously broken.
Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. Eric Garner. Botham Jean. Atatiana Jefferson. There are countless others. Each of their deaths left mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and communities with an inescapable pain and anguish that we should all feel, because we are all connected. We at climbOn want to express clearly and emphatically: we universally condemn white supremacy, racism, intolerance, hate, prejudice, brutality, discrimination, bigotry, and injustice wherever they rear their ugly head. They are unacceptable and must stop. Black Lives Matter. And as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in the spring of 1963: “I cannot sit idly by…and not be concerned about what happens…Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
And yet we see hope for change. Millions of people across the nation are uniting right now like never before to oppose and eliminate these wrongs - let’s make sure it lasts. The antidotes include love, respect, inclusivity, justice, and consistent, long-term, widespread action. For over 25 years, our mission and values at climbOn Performance Skincare have promoted holistic well-being and the eradication of toxins that harm our bodies and the earth physically and emotionally. We clearly see that the universal enjoyment of basic human rights along with the elimination of injustice and prejudice are fundamental to our mission and values. Every skincare product we create is intended to be inclusive, thinking carefully about different skin types and skin needs while also making each product all-family, multi-purpose, and accessible to everyone. But we can and must do more.
While we are a small company with only a handful of people, we are fully committed every day to doing what we can to make a lasting difference in this important struggle against racism, intolerance, hate, and violence. We have been talking as a team to figure out what we can specifically do to act and help fix the systemic issues of racism and inequality. Here is what we are acting on right now for starters:
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Listen and learn. We will continue to listen and learn so that our perspective will continue to deepen and broaden to better understand the problem and its potential solutions. Our action plan will continue to evolve and grow as we learn more.
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Listen more to black skincare needs. As we champion the holistic well-being of black lives, we need to do more to proactively learn about their skincare needs and what the climbOn brand can do to help. There is more that we can do to specifically engage the black community to listen to their needs and learn from their unique perspective. We are committed to doing this immediately to gather input on both current and future products we are working on.
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Involve more black influencers. We directly work with a number of athletes, influencers, and outdoor enthusiasts in the industry that share our values, love the climbOn brand, and promote our mission to others. There are far more people in the black community that we should and will engage to make sure that our influencer network is inclusive and diverse. We are reaching out to them immediately and will continue to search for more.
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Proactively recruit. Whenever we have a new position on the team to fill, we will ensure that we proactively find and include candidates from the black community and other under-represented ethnic groups in our interview process. As our team grows we need to make sure that we prioritize diversity and inclusion. It is the right thing to do for many reasons, and we will make sure it happens.
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Donate. As a small company with limited resources, there are natural limits to what we can do. And yet we want and need to sacrifice for a mission we truly and deeply care about. To begin, we pledge 10% of our website sales in June and July this year will be donated to the Community Advocacy & Healing Project in Round Rock, Texas near our office in Wimberley, TX. We will also find other local groups that help the African American community so that we can learn more about how we can help. This is only the first step, and we are working on additional ideas to make a lasting impact.
Please join with us in this important moment for our country. Email us with any ideas you might have. We are deeply grateful to all our customers who know and embrace our values. Let’s make sure we all translate those shared values into action so that inclusion, respect, love, and diversity ultimately fix what is broken and heal wounds that have been ailing for far too long.