June is Pride Month worldwide, which means that countries and people all over the globe are showing their support for LGBTQ communities! There are still challenges and struggles everywhere for LGTBQ individuals trying to live their lives, and Pride Month - with its parades, rallies, and fundraisers - is all about acceptance and inclusion, as well as celebrating the differences that make us special.
Naturally, it's a smart - and heartwarming - motion for brands large and small to show off their LGBTQ support, but as Mic puts it, it's easy to just go through the motions of "simply slapping a rainbow on a T-shirt, tweeting 'love is love' and calling it a day" - what we want is brands doing good CSR work for LGBTQ communities, including partnerships and donations.
We've gathered five brands that we love that also believe "love is love" and are giving back to the LGBTQ community with their CSR efforts:
TomboyX
With their Rainbow Pride Stripes collection, inclusive underwear company TomboyX - whose motto is "Underwear That's Not For Everybody. But Is For Any Body." - offers up a wide selection of briefs, bras, boxers and more with a cool rainbow pattern and myriad sizing options. For Pride Month, TomboyX is donating 10% of all sales from their Rainbow collection to the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Baked by Melissa
While some bakeries are staunchly against Pride, Baked by Melissa is another story. The New York-based bakery is selling a "Pride 25-pack" of gourmet cupcakes (including a rainbow-tastic tie-dye cupcake!), wrapped in a festive rainbow sleeve. They're donating 10% of each Pride pack sale to The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, and you can order nationwide as well as picking up a box for yourself in Manhattan.
Milk Makeup
Nothing says Pride festivities like a ton of glitter, and Milk Makeup has just the cosmetics duo to get you looking your most sparkly for the parades (or for everyday life). Their limited-edition Pride Pack includes a glittery rainbow lip gloss and an Equality tattoo stamp that's temporary, transfer-proof and vegan. Throughout June, Milk's donating 50% of each Pride Pack purchase to The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in NYC.
H&M
The clothing company has long been supporters of inclusion and charitable causes, so it's no surprise that they're getting in on the Pride action with their Pride Out Loud line. "This Pride, we celebrate that everyone should be free to love who they want as loud as they want," says the H&M website, and they're offering up a number of cool - and reasonably priced - clothing pieces that showcase Pride and equality. From May to November this year, 10% of sales from the collection will be donated to the UN Free & Equal campaign, with a guaranteed donation amount of $350,000 USD.
Converse
As one of the coolest sneaker companies around, Converse made a big move this year by partnering with Miley Cyrus to design a special Pride line of footwear - including a rainbow version of their famous Chuck Taylors, platform shoes, low-top sneakers, and more. All net proceeds of the Converse Pride Collection go towards supporting their LGBTQ+ youth community partners globally, and even if you can't buy anything from the line, you can still share and print one of their Pride posters.
By tying their CSR efforts to Pride Month and LGBTQ charities, the above brands - and many more! - show their true colors of support and diversity. With so many consumers wanting to shop with companies that have good core values, supporting initiatives like Pride Month is a great place to start with CSR!
