‘The UK’s largest retailer Tesco is introducing a range of plasters to match different skin colours and better reflect racial and ethnic diversity.
In a supermarket first, its new own-brand fabric plasters, available in light, medium and dark shades, go on sale in all 741 Tesco stores nationwide and online from Monday.
Tesco developed the plasters after a member of staff spotted a now-viral tweet last year, when a black American man described his emotional response when he first used a plaster on his cut fingerthat matched his skin tone.
Dominique Apollon, the vice-president of research at Race Forward, a US-based non-profit organisation that builds awareness for racial justice, discovered a plaster brand that came in several darker skin tones. The 45-year-old said he was “holding back tears” for an experience as mundane as sticking on a plaster.
His tweet prompted a flurry of comments from other users, highlighting how significant the issue of representative plaster tones is for those in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Some said their memories of putting on plasters as children were when they were first made aware of race.
The thread, which received more than 500,000 likes, even attracted the attention of actor John Boyega, who posted his own experience of “nude” plasters while filming Star Wars.
The product idea was brought to the attention of senior Tesco team members who accelerated its launch. The development of the plasters was supported by the BAME at Tesco staff network, who helped with testing and feedback and had an input into the product’s final design.’
Read more: Tesco launches range of plasters to match different skin tones
