We stand in solidarity with our AAPI community and are taking action to be part of the shift away from white colonialism and capitalism within the beauty industry.
Authenticity and accountability are two of the pillars that fortify our women-led small business, and we continue to strive to stay true and steadfast to our allyships against social injustice and to dismantle and unweave the privilege, equity, and accessibility issues of our particular industry.
We have taken this time to be fully vulnerable and transparent with one another as a Spruce team and to reassess our practices in order to navigate this shift into alignment with our AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) community and licensed TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioners.
We at Spruce believe that it is both crucial and necessary to recognize, honor, and celebrate the sacred traditions and cultures that influenced and formed the foundations of our wellness and beauty industry.
As such, we are now partnering with an AAPI woman-owned company called Mount Lai. Her facial tools and education are rooted in TCM and her practices honor her lineage and heritage. We are so grateful to introduce this wonderful brand to join our thoughtfully curated selections.
Further, we have collectively decided to no longer offer the gua sha facial in our spa offerings to you. With the leadership of our spa lead, Kimjoy, and discussion as a team, we feel it’s unethical and out of our scope of practice to financially profit from TCM-based facial services.
Removing our gua sha facial is in no way the most important conversation to be had right now, but we do think it’s a vital part of our (un)learning/relearning process. We have more (un)learning to do. And we hope that our choice to take a step back and reassess our relationship and approach to these modalities will motivate others to do the same.
That being said, if and when you choose to expand your knowledge of TCM modalities, please do so by supporting AAPI-owned businesses and licensed TCM practitioners. This is our commitment moving forward to advocate for the Asian community and to speak out about appropriation.
In honor and remembrance of the AAPI lives lost in Atlanta this week, we will be donating 10% of all website sales this Saturday - Monday. We have also committed to a recurring monthly donation to the following two AAPI organizations:
AAPI Women Lead | imreadymovement.org
Asian Mental Health Collective | asianmhc.org
- The Spruce Team
