Marketing Makeup

In “Stolen Beauty” on the CodePink site discusses boycotting Ahava because “its products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem.” The site goes onto say that by having Kristen Davis as its spokeswoman “Ahava puts a pretty face on its crimes.” The site gives a list of companies to write to take action beyond simply signing the petition: by writing Macy’s, Nordstrom, Ricky’s NYC, Bed Bath & Beyond, ULTA to stop selling Ahava. They also give tips to boycott at Ahava carrying stores such as: getting a team together, devise a plan, create a press release, inviting the media, then get ready to boycott the store. The site also gives plenty of information about Ahava and the reasons to boycott and devotes a section to the latest developments about Ahava.  

“Stolen Beauty” brings attention to how makeup products are advertised and how consumers are misled. By having Kristen Davis as the face of Ahava, consumers believe that this is a product they can trust. In Girl Wide Web 2.0 authors Sharon R. Mazzarella and Allison Atkins discuss youth consumers:

“The anxieties that are the hallmark of the pubertal and pre-pubertal years are relieved through the acquisition of aspirational products—makeup, jewelry, halter tops, and so on. In fact, part and parcel of the construction of the tween/teen girl identity is this concept of ‘normative femininity’—a narrow, culturally prescribed vision of what the ideal woman/girl should be” (267).

Having Kristen Davis as the spokeswoman not only sends the wrong message to tween/teen girls about how they should look, but the company labels their products as being “Made in Israel” even though they are not. It brings into question marketing strategies and why they are being used and to whom they are targeting.

Below is a "Stolen Beauty" comic by Ethan Heitner and a YouTube video for Brides Boycott Ahava & SodaStream at Bed, Bath & Beyond: