As DEI disappears from major retailers, Shop Red Bag gives Black-owned brands a new home

By The Grio Staff

As major retailers back away from DEI commitments, media, and tech executive Candi Carter has launched a new e-commerce platform to uplift marginalized brands and promote everyday activism through shopping.

As major retailers walk back their diversity commitments, Candi Carter is building something new: a movement powered by everyday purchases.

In a conversation with TheGrio’s Natasha S. Alford, the veteran media executive and founder of Cistus Media unveiled her latest project, Shop Red Bag, an online marketplace created for consumers who are rethinking where their money goes, especially in the wake of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rollbacks at major corporations.

“When I saw the outrage and the backlash online around all of these DEI programs being rolled back, or we’re just not gonna call it that, or we are caving to the administration, I just felt like because of what I did, what my company does, even though we are small, we are mighty. And I decided to be part of the solution,” Carter told TheGrio.

Launched just in time for Juneteenth, Shop Red Bag is Carter’s response to a question many Black consumers have been asking: If we boycott companies like Target and Walmart, where do we go instead?

Carter’s answer: a curated hub of underrepresented brands—Black-owned, women-owned, LGBTQ+, veteran-owned and more—offering everything from toilet paper and paper towels to cosmetics, cookware, and stationery. The platform had over 60 to 80 brands sign on in its first week and continues to grow.

“Every time somebody buys something on Shop Red Bag, we want them to post it, put up the hashtag, and say that your money matters—because your money matters. Every dollar matters,” Carter told theGrio.

The original article has more details about Shop Red Bag.

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