The dolls had first become the subject of controversy back in December 2018, after civil-rights lawyer Chinyere Ezie shared a photo of them on social media. Ezie’s post, in which she stated that she was “shaking with anger” over them, went viral — prompting Prada to apologize and pull the dolls from shelves.
Unfortunately for Prada, however, this wasn’t enough. Ezie still filed a complaint. What’s more, the commission sent Prada a “cease and desist,” and it had been investigating the company over the issue for the last year — until the two entities finally reached a deal on it just last week.
The deal, the New York Times reports, includes a promise by Prada to send all of its New York City employees — and its Milan executives — to sensitivity training. Prada has also agreed to allow for external oversight of its business for two years, and to hire a diversity-and-inclusion director (one that has to be approved by the commission) who will be responsible for “reviewing Prada’s designs before they are sold, advertised or promoted in any way in the United States.” If you think that sounds like an absurd task for a single individual, you’re not alone: The Times piece itself notes in parentheses that, considering “the hundreds of products Prada creates every season, this is a pretty extraordinary task.”
Now, I’m not going to weigh in whatsoever on whether Prada should have been selling those dolls. Actually, I don’t think that anyone sane could see this story and think that that was what we should be talking about here. The point is that the New York City government should never be able to tell them that they can’t.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020...power-to-tell-businesses-what-they-cant-sell/
Unfortunately for Prada, however, this wasn’t enough. Ezie still filed a complaint. What’s more, the commission sent Prada a “cease and desist,” and it had been investigating the company over the issue for the last year — until the two entities finally reached a deal on it just last week.
The deal, the New York Times reports, includes a promise by Prada to send all of its New York City employees — and its Milan executives — to sensitivity training. Prada has also agreed to allow for external oversight of its business for two years, and to hire a diversity-and-inclusion director (one that has to be approved by the commission) who will be responsible for “reviewing Prada’s designs before they are sold, advertised or promoted in any way in the United States.” If you think that sounds like an absurd task for a single individual, you’re not alone: The Times piece itself notes in parentheses that, considering “the hundreds of products Prada creates every season, this is a pretty extraordinary task.”
Now, I’m not going to weigh in whatsoever on whether Prada should have been selling those dolls. Actually, I don’t think that anyone sane could see this story and think that that was what we should be talking about here. The point is that the New York City government should never be able to tell them that they can’t.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020...power-to-tell-businesses-what-they-cant-sell/
