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Amazon facing criticism for Small Business badges program for Black brands

Amazon’s website says the badges are intended for U.S. companies with fewer than 100 employees and less than $50 million in revenue.

Amazon facing criticism for Small Business badges program for Black brands
UNSPLASH PHOTO

Amazon is under fire for its Black-owned small business badges program, according to a report from tech media pub The Information.

It suggests that Amazon handed out labels to large companies, thousands of which are non-Black-owned businesses.

Amazon reportedly removed some of the misplaced badges when a reporter from The Information requested comment.

Amazon’s website says the badges are intended for U.S. companies with fewer than 100 employees and less than $50 million in revenue.

But products in this category included a Johnson & Johnson shampoo bottle, a lamp from a Chinese vendor, and even a coffee company with a $1.1 billion market cap, the report reads.

Jason Boyce, CEO of Avenue7Media — a firm that helps companies sell via Amazon — called the badges “fishy”, according to the report, and added that if Amazon isn’t managing the program, they’re disadvantaging small businesses and giving big companies an unfair advantage.

Stacey Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, questioned whether or not the trillion-dollar company truly cares about supporting Black businesses.

“It’s very much in Amazon’s interest to try to suggest that they’re supporting small businesses rather than eating their lunch,” Mitchell told The Information.