A range of fabric plasters consisting of ‘light’, ‘medium’ and ‘dark’ tones has been released by Tesco in a bid to ‘better serve our customers from all backgrounds and communities’
Tesco has become the first UK supermarket to launch a range of fabric plasters in three skin tones to ‘better represent the nation’.
The store developed the plasters after a colleague spotted a viral tweet which captured the emotional moment one man used a plaster that matched his skin tone for the first time, racking up more than 500,000 likes.
It led to a flurry of responses from those who highlighted the importance of representative plaster tones, which was brought to the attention of senior members of the Tesco team.
The development of the plasters was also supported by the ‘BAME at Tesco’ group, which believes the range provides a real opportunity to make a difference in the lives of customers.
BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) at Tesco aims to make a positive impact on staff and customers by raising awareness of diversity, culture and inclusion within the supermarket chain.
The group helped by coordinating testing the product with colleagues and gathering feedback, as well as having final say in the designs.
Tesco says it hopes the launch will encourage other retailers to follow suit.
Paulette Balson, chair of the BAME at Tesco network, said: “One of the main objectives of our network is to help Tesco better serve our customers from all backgrounds and communities.
“No UK supermarket had ever stocked plasters in a range of skin tones before and we saw this as an opportunity for Tesco to lead the charge and make a genuine difference.
“Through our research within the network, we know how emotive a product like this can be. For example, one colleague reported that their child had felt self-conscious wearing a plaster on their face to school recently, because it didn’t match their skin tone and stood out.”
Health, Beauty and Wellness Director at Tesco, Nicola Robinson, added: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we continually review our products and services to best meet their needs.
“As one of the largest retailers in the UK, we also understand that we have a responsibility to ensure our products reflect the diversity of our customers and colleagues.
“We believe the launch of our new skin tone plaster range is an important step and a move that we hope will be replicated by other retailers and supermarkets across the country.”
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tesco-becomes-first-uk-supermarket-21547839