June 5, 2020 – UPDATED JANUARY 2022

Our commitment to anti-racism at Salt Design Co.

Over the last couple of weeks, thousands of people around the world have come together to publicly condemn the tragic death of George Floyd and the mishandling of his case. This has formed into what feels like a global movement for civil rights and justice for Black communities around the world. That movement is here to stay, and honestly, it is about damn time.

We are making commitments as a business to be part of that movement and to ensure that our anti-racism efforts are part of our business practices in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

With that in mind, we wanted to share our commitment to anti-racism so that we act in transparency and can be held accountable to this. 

Here’s what we are and will be doing: 

As a business:

  1. We will be volunteering our time and services to a local, Black-owned business by providing pro bono brand and web design services.
    *Update July 2020* We are now working on a pro bono basis with Project Love Run and owner Filsan Abdiaman.
    *Update April 2021*     Our project with Project Love Run is complete and we are looking for another Black-owner business that may benefit from our services pro bono. Is that you!? Send us an email to hello@saltdesignco.studio

  2. In 2021 we will support a local Indigenous organization and will be offering our support long-term. For us, this will mean offering website design and/or branding also financially supporting them by covering the cost of their website hosting for up to 5 years. 

  3. *Update Dec 2020* We now offer a 10% discount to any Black or Indigenous business owners who may want to work with us. Our hope is that those funds can be put to other, crucial parts of their businesses. For many of the projects we work on this is the equivalent to 100’s of $’s and sometimes is worth over $1,000CAD.

  4. We are committed to finding more BIPOC experts to partner with for client projects at Salt Design Co. The gaps we notice in our business in particular are photographers and copywriters. We will start there. 

  5. We are committed to taking and paying for anti-racism education with our current majority white team and building discussion of how to dismantle white supremacy into our business practices.

  6. We have, and will continue to donate business funds to local Indigenous organizations every time we host an event. 

  7. We are committed to featuring more BIPOC business owners on our podcast, The Messy Middle. 

  8. As we grow, we commit to hiring a DEI consultant so that our hiring practices are aligned with our values and anti-racism efforts. We look to them for their leadership in how to build business practices that support BIPOC individuals. 

  9. We reserve the right to decline projects with businesses or individuals we know do not uphold the same values or commitments as us.

As individuals:

  1. We are committed to learning more about the history of racism in Canada and our local area (the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, now known as Vancouver, B.C) focusing on Indigenous, Asian, and Black communities in particular.

  2. We are making the commitment to dedicate time every month to 1 specific area of learning. We will be watching a documentary, reading a book, engaging in a workshop or webinar, or similar.

  3. We have identified a group of friends with which to discuss what we’ve learned and what actions we should be/are taking, so that we can work on these items together and can hold each other accountable.

  4. Individually we will also be working internally to reflect on and address our biases – noticing when they come up, unpacking them and working to do and be better.

  5. We (L&D) will be holding each other accountable to all above commitments.

We are doing this work not because we think it's the ”good” thing to do but because it's right. Understand that this is not for a pat on the back; we're being transparent so that we can be held accountable in this work and so that you know where we as a business stand. This work is to ensure we don't perpetuate the cycle of violence that Black and Indigenous folks have been experiencing all their lives. If you are a white business owner, consider doing this work too. Black and Indigenous individuals, we see you and we stand with you.

Lucy & Daphne