The cannabis industry would not be anywhere where it is today without the queer community. LGBTQ+ people were instrumental in the struggle for legalization, from the early days of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club to the ongoing fight for decriminalization and legalization on both the state and federal level. Cannabis still plays an important role in the queer community, supporting our mental health, connecting our social lives, and making the everyday more colorful.
That’s why it’s so important for cannabis brands to celebrate Pride, but it’s critical that well-meaning businesses avoid a misstep that many brands make: rainbow washing.
If you’re not sure where to begin, check out our ideas of things cannabis businesses can do to support the LGBTQ+ community beyond Pride.
What is rainbow washing?
Sometimes called “pinkwashing” or “rainbow capitalism,” rainbow washing takes place when a company outwardly celebrates Pride without taking meaningful action to support the queer community. During Pride Month, this often takes the form of posting the company logo in Pride flag colors (or sometimes just rainbow). This can also include heartfelt sentiments posted on social media without any accompanying follow-through.
In most cases, rainbow washing isn’t malicious. The company means well, but its leadership may not know what steps to take beyond verbally expressing support for Pride and those who celebrate it. It’s great to use your brand’s platform in this way, but in a time where customers increasingly expect action to back up your words, it’s critical to do more.
Customers expect brands to take a stand and act on it
Your customers expect you to speak up. In fact, research conducted by Sprout Social found that 70% of consumers expect brands to take a stance on social issues. Of course, that’s not enough to make meaningful change, and consumers are looking to brands to put their money where their mouths are. Research from Ipsos suggests that 61% of Americans are more likely to shop with brands that “make a difference in the world.” This means that action is more important than a rainbow logo or a statement posted to Instagram on June 1st.
When it comes to Pride in particular, queer folks are hyper vigilant about who goes the extra mile. We do not want to be pandered to. We want to be respected every day of the year, and just changing your company logo doesn’t signal that. If you want us to shop with you year-round, it’s important to do more than just change your logo to show that you care about our community.
That’s especially important in cannabis, where 37% of LGBTQ+ adults are cannabis consumers. Moreover, queer people make up an estimated 14% of industry employees. We aren’t just cannabis consumers, we’re a significant part of the cannabis industry — brands that engage in rainbow washing will not go unnoticed.
Pride is not a month. It’s a mindset.
Just because Pride ends on July 1 doesn’t mean we stop being queer. If you want your advocacy to be seen as genuine and heartfelt, your efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community should go on no matter what the calendar says.
That means including and elevating queer employees, creating safe spaces for queer customers, and engaging with the broader queer community. After all, if you’re going to claim to be a pillar of our community during Pride, you need to be putting in the work all 12 months of the year.
The good news is we’re here to help. If you’re looking for ways to support LGBTQ+ people, there are plenty of queer folks in the industry who would be more than happy to connect you to real opportunities to get involved in our community in a meaningful way. That doesn’t mean leaning on queer people to do the work, but there is ample opportunity to make real connections and contributions for any brand that truly wants to do so.
Celebrate Pride the right way. Take these steps
It’s not too late to take part in Pride the right way! Look around for Pride events in your community and see if you can table, sponsor, or donate swag. Raise awareness or money for an LGBTQ+ organization. Ask your queer staff what they want to see and listen to what they have to say. And, most importantly, make plans to carry your advocacy beyond Pride Month and support your queer staff and customers year-round.
Happy Pride!