Is it just us or is it… a little quieter than usual this time of year? With Pride Month coming up in mere days, you’d expect there to be tons of noise, yet you could almost say the ramp-up to June is crickets. It doesn’t feel like it’s too hard to figure out why: after years of ongoing threats to the queer community and severe backlash, brands are getting scared off Pride. While we could easily get into how queer identity should’ve never been an opportunity for profit and that the LGBTQ+ community deserves more than corporate representation, that’s a topic for another time.
In any case, while it’s looking to be another year of cowardly brands quickly relabeling any rainbow merch in fear of scaring off potential donors, some are sticking to their guns. Skittles has always made sense as a brand supporting Pride, considering their obvious rainbow connection, and they’re keeping at it with a cool illustrated pouch for 2024.
This year’s pouch comes in an endearing design that honors the diverse looks and interests of the queer community, bright with rollerskates, horns, and hearts. While it could merely look good, Skittles is walking the walk: the design was created in partnership with woman and minority-owned creative company NERD Productions, and a dollar from every pack’s sales goes to GLAAD. We’re crossing our fingers to see similarly thoughtful releases in the next few weeks (days?), but we’re not holding our breath!
