In March this year, over 75 beauty businesses from around the world united for #BeautyForUkraine and pledged a portion of their revenue to the UK for UNHCR Emergency Appeal for Ukraine.
Less than a week into the war in Ukraine, luxury nail salon chain Townhouse pledged to donate 100% of revenue across all their locations to the UNHCR on March 8th. With a strong call to action, Townhouse encouraged other nail businesses, no matter how big or small, to get involved in and support people who were forcibly displaced by the war in Ukraine.
The response was overwhelming. Within just hours of the post being up, over 20 businesses had already pledged to contribute. In less than 24 hours, the pledge expanded to the #BeautyForUkraine movement, with Townhouse bringing the beauty industry together in support of Ukraine – from with hair salons, make-up artists, and other beauty businesses pledging their support, eventually totalling more than 75 businesses from around the world pledging to join.
Juanita Huber-Millet, Townhouse Founder and Creative Director said, “When we launched #NailsforUkraine and appealed for others to join, we hoped to get one or two other businesses on board. We never expected it to explode like it did – suddenly we had everything from small privately owned businesses to large international beauty distributors like Nailberry and The Gel Bottle on board, and not just from the UK but also France, Ireland, the USA, Abu Dhabi, Australia – and the list kept growing”.
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Ranging from small family-owned salons to large global suppliers, these businesses pledged whatever they could – from 10% to 100% of revenue, with many businesses and employees donating directly.
“The beauty industry united for an important cause and demonstrated the resilience of (almost exclusively female) business owners in an industry that was massively impacted by COVID,” said Juanita.
“What brought it all to life was the individuals in our team and those we work with that were directly affected – people who had to abandon their livelihoods, people whose families were on the ground taking in refugees. It made us sad – it made us angry. But most importantly – we knew we couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
“Individuals and companies may not be able to end wars but we were determined to do our bit to make a difference.”
The decision to support people fleeing the war in Ukraine came naturally, given the industry Townhouse operate within. “Beauty is all about personal connections and inspiring moments of happiness in your day. We talked to our team and our customers and it all became pretty simple – show our solidarity and give our customers a chance to take part – for one day, donating all revenue from across our locations to UNHCR.”
As the war in Ukraine continues, Townhouse have started to look at their long-term commitments, setting aside ten immediately available full-time jobs across the company for Ukrainian nail technicians.
“These roles are open regardless of language skills, with the company making a pledge to provide English language training as part of their package of support. These jobs are live at Job Aid Ukraine and Employ Ukraine – we hope to be able to provide some stability for those who have had to flee.”
“Beauty can’t change the world, but together we can make a difference.”
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To make a donation to help people who have been forced to flee the war in Ukraine, please click here.
Do you want to offer a lifeline to refugees? Find out more about how you can fundraise for refugees here.
