Beauty Blog Turned Billion-dollar Brand Faces Backlash

If you've spent any time on the makeup or skincare side of social media, I can almost guarantee that you've come across the blog, turned billion-dollar beauty company known for its modern millennial pink packaging, and refreshing take on the cosmetic industry.

Now attaining over 2.6 million Instagram followers, Glossier is a leading brand in the movement toward beauty in natural makeup and the importance of quality skincare. First founded as Into the Gloss Blog in 2010 by now CEO Emily Weiss, both the blog and brand (launched in 2014), pride themselves on empowering women and creating products inspired by users. Glossier explicitly states, "Now, we’re building the future beauty company where everything we make starts with you. We create the products you tell us you wish existed. We believe in thoughtful design, and enabling conversation (which is where it all starts)," using Rhetorical communication strategies to inspire the community and remind consumers of Glossier's interdependence. The company's actions towards employees also demonstrate their use of both the Human Relations and Resources Approach to management, and their recent desire for equity exhibits a Critical Communication strategy.

When Glossier launched its online store, it quickly became the beauty industry standard for natural looks and the new generation of makeup and skincare enthusiasts. The brand's obsessive following quickly grew and Glossier opened its first physical location nearly two years later. This temporary New York store welcomed over 10,000 fans weekly, and by 2019, the now multiple locations across the country brought in over 1 million customers annually. The young beauty brand was booming with Millenial and Gen Z customers, attracted by Glossier's message and marketing.

If 2019 was Glossier's peak and thriving period, then 2020 would be its downfall. In the spring, Glossier temporarily closed its locations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, laying off all retail employees. In the summer, at the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement, buzz began over racism in the workplace. The Outta the Gloss posts were first sent out on Medium, now uploaded to Instagram, which challenged the ideas we as consumers have about Glossier. Outta the Gloss strived to inform buyers about Glossier workers' realities behind the cute pink facade; stories of incompetent management, leadership, and lack of accountability for racist actions. Outta the Gloss demanded an open zoom call focused on equalizing BIPOC workers, public responsibility, anti-racism training, and more.

Outta the Gloss's post was addressed less than 24 hours later in multiple forms; CEO Emily Weiss apologized in an Instagram post and Glossier blog post where she addressed the next steps for making changes in the company. Yet, this too was faced with retaliation; a lack of widespread accountability across Glossier's social media to inform followers, unlike other publicized positive changes, as well as claiming Weiss's words as empty and vague to make any meaningful differences in company policy.

This was not the first or last time Glossier would deal with issues of race. When Glossier launched its first four products, one of its most popular items then, and still today would be the "Perfecting Skin Tint". The light coverage product was released in only three shades, later expanding to five, and only in 2019 would they develop the twelve shades available today. In comparison to many other competing beauty organizations' 50 or 60 shades, Glossier is deliberately communicating its demographic to consumers.

In May of 2020, in the thick of the Black Lives Matter movement, Glossier launched their Black-owned Beauty Brand Grant Initiative, putting 1 million dollars towards fighting racial injustice and supporting Black beauty entrepreneurs. The movement was met with resounding support, and the value of racial equality continues to be a major focus point of Glossier's Critical Communication strategy.

Glossier as an organization seems to primarily take a Human Relations Approach, which "emphasizes the importance of human needs in the workplace," (Miller & Barbour, 2014). Glossier consistently speaks of valuing employee opinions stating, "our top priority has been building our future retail employee experience: one that’s founded upon authenticity, integrity, inclusion, equity, and empathy. We owe a debt of gratitude to our former retail colleagues who shared with us, through many hours of conversations last year, how we can improve the overall experience for our retail team—and most importantly, how we can ensure that we’re consistently creating a safe and inclusive environment for all Glossier retail team members." Yet the organization is only recommended by 50% of employees and earned a 3.2 out of 5 on Diversity and Inclusion on Glassdoor. This demonstrates a misuse of Human Relations principles and a lack of equity in the organization.

Glossier also utilizes parts of the Human Resources Approach which according to Miller and Barbour (2014), encourages the flow of ideas and permeability within all departments of an organization. Outwardly, Glossier portrays itself as Likert's System Four organization, where feedback is asked of employees and used in every decision-making process to create innovative change. They pride themselves on being an organization for the people, releasing this statement, "We are people-first. We celebrate authenticity, operate with integrity, and lead with empathy. We are unique individuals who flourish as a team. Our strength is in the collective. We are inspired by our community, fostering inclusion and belonging -- always. Learning is a constant. Joy is our language. We are impassioned storytellers, driven by our curiosity, reimagining the future of beauty one experience at a time." This demonstrates to those outside of the company, the importance Glossier places on its employees.

After Outta the Gloss's posts and demands, Emily Weiss posted to Instagram discussing the open dialogue she had created for past employees to share experiences. This pushes Glossier to look like a System Four organization, yet feedback should have also been asked of current employees to implement impactful change.

However, what Outta the Gloss uncovers for consumers is a System Three organization, or worse, where management such as Emily Weiss, and store managers are manipulating workers to believe their feedback is being implemented but instead decisions remain made by those in power to appease employee emotions. Outta the Gloss stated until December 2020, when deactivated, that Glossier has never met their demands as employees, and instead began a movement to boycott the company.

Glossier's brand spans many different aspects of Organizational Communication, from utilizing Craig's Seven Domains of Communication to parts of both the Human Relations and Resources Approaches. The online store shift during the pandemic should have been a revival of Glossier, yet their management strategies and inter-organizational communication need major reform before receiving a time of Glossier superiority.

References:

Miller, K., & Barbour, J. (2014). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.