Australian, New Zealand Fashion Industries React to U.S. Protests

SYDNEY — The Australian and New Zealand fashion industries have joined the growing chorus of support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
Following several solidarity protests in Australia and New Zealand on Monday and Tuesday, fashion companies in both countries have been sharing messages of support for the movement to their social media feeds, often accompanied by the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.
Participants include global retailers such as Billabong, Zimmermann, the Cotton On Group and New Zealand-American footwear brand Allbirds; pure-play online retailers such as The Iconic, Boohoo Australia and Princess Polly; and smaller designer brands such as Spell & The Gypsy Collective, Karen Walker and Zambesi.
“We are an Australian brand made up of a proud family of diverse voices, ethnicities and cultures. We are privileged to have a voice and a platform. And right now, we have a duty to use our influence and community to speak out against racism, hatred and injustice” the Cotton On Group posted to its @CottonOn and @CottonOn_USA Instagram feeds on Monday, later reposting the same message to  number of its other Instagram accounts in Australia, Asia, Africa and Brazil.

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