Buying from Black Owned Businesses

In this article I'll explain why I'm trying to change my shopping habits. I want to try to spend with Black owned brands now as much as possible.

Why I Decided to Change Where I Spend My Money

The reason why I initially decided to be more mindful of who I spent my money with was due to the coronavirus. Yes, the big virus was why I started to see why buying ONLY from China was bad. I first thought that it was better to buy directly from China. The reason I thought it would be better was because I thought that's where mostly everyone bought their product from anyway. I figured that I would cut out the middleman. Plus, I felt that Chinese workers needed money more than some greedy, cheap white person.
Well, let's fast forward to during the virus. That ALL changed. At first, I was scared about getting the virus from a package. I live in Japan so a package from China arrives very quickly. Then, it became about politics and ethics.
I started to hear more about the Wuhan virus AKA the rona. The fact that it was conjured up in the lab. The fact that the Chinese government tried to hide it. The fact that they lied about the number of cases, deaths, and when the virus was first detected. The fact that they let their citizens out of the country KNOWING they would infect others. After ALL THAT, that's when I started to think hey maybe I shouldn't be giving this corrupt government my money anymore.
THEN, I heard about the racist things happening in China. I heard about them evicting African people, and sometimes African Americans, from their homes. I heard about them not allowing a pregnant woman into the hospital. I heard about landlords breaking the windows in someone's home to get them to leave. I saw cartoons of the Chinese police throwing out Black people in the trash. I heard about China trying to say the virus originated in Africa.
All of those disgusting, deplorable racist acts allowed on tiktok. And recently, I heard about China allowing an African man to die from the virus. They wouldn't allow him into any hospitals so he died in agonizing pain. All of this solidified my thoughts on spending with China.

Hair!!

So, the one thing I was worried about buying were my wigs. I love my wigs and I cannot live without them. It's taken some time, but I have finally heard of Black owned hair companies. One is called Princess Locs. The hair is about $300-$600 dollars I believe. It's a little on the pricier side, but from what I've seen, it's worth it.
The hair is so thick and looks luxurious. It's virgin hair of course, and you get a lot of inches for the price. I think if you want luxury hair, it's worth a look. You can save up for it and I think it's a better investment than the cheap AliExpress brands.
Another company I'm thinking of buying from is called Ramae Hair or Ramae.US
This company is better for me because it has more options. I like long hair, but I don't want my hair to be too too long. You get a lot of inches with Princess Locs, but for me it's a little too much. I think it's more for a special occasion. With Ramae I can choose the length of the hair, plus the prices aren't as steep.
I also found ANOTHER Black owned hair company called XOXO Virgin Hair Wigs. This company has worked with Jackie Aina, Solange, Lisa Raye, just to name a few. The hair looks AMAZING. I think the owner even went to the Essence awards. I feel that it's a pretty popular brand. With that being said, this company had the highest prices I've seen yet.
Like I said, the hair looks amazing and beautiful. I did see a wig with HD lace that was a good price for me. It was about 300-400 dollars. That was the cheapest unit on the website. The others were like 500-1,000. I'm sure the quality is outstanding, but for now, I can't afford that brand. It's a good option to have though.

Clothes

Here's the part where I'm struggling a little bit. I have NO IDEA where I can buy clothes from a Black owned brand. I will keep doing research to see if anything comes up. For now, it's okay though. I currently don't need any more clothes LOL.
However, I'm happy to say that I've stopped shopping with Shein AND Fashion Nova. I feel like Shein doesn't appreciate Black dollars. I've noticed for a while now that they NEVER have any Black models! I remember they had ONE model who could have been mixed at best. After the recent Black Lives Matter movement, I've seen ONE dark skin model with a fro on their website.
I was thinking really? ONE model? Not only that, but I've only seen her the one time. Whenever I get an email from them, it's filled with white girls. When I look on the website, it's filled with white girls. I'm done with these Chinese brands.
And Fashion Nova. Fashion d*mn Nova. They are constantly stealing from Black designers, which I've heard Shein does as well. Fashion Nova is constantly putting out the narrative that Dark skin Black women’s body is not fit. Before they were called out, they NEVER posted a fit, beautiful Dark skin girl on their main page, UNLESS she had a big butt. They had no problem posting Dark skin women ALL DAY on their "curve" page though. Sending out the narrative that all Dark skin women are un-healthy and out of shape.
Fashion Nova only use to post racially ambiguous women on their page. They even LOVED posting women who were known for Black fishing. The nerve and the audacity. Fashion Nova knew exactly who was buying their clothes. It was a lot of Black women. I mean there's so much dirt on Fashion Nova and their god-awful business practices. You can just type it into YouTube, and you'll find a plethora of evidence. That's why I stopped shopping with them too.

Closing Thoughts

This is just the beginning. I'll write another article about other Black owned companies, but for now, I think that's enough. I still want to talk about natural hair products and make-up. I got a lot of ideas from a YouTuber by the name of TooMuchMouth. She peeped game on a lot of the brands I mentioned here, and probably more I'll mention in the future. Check her out if you have the chance. I'll talk to you again soon. Bye bye for now.