M&S to focus on equality with new lingerie line

Marks and Spencer has announced the launch of its new ‘Nothing Neutral About It’ lingerie range.

The new range is part of the retailer’s mission to be more inclusive in the lingerie space, which it says was fuelled by the “global conversation on racial inequality, following the horrific death of George Floyd”.

As part of its efforts, the department store chain worked alongside the M&S Culture and Heritage colleague network on redefining its neutrals (nude) underwear to be more inclusive of all skin tones, rather than only being accessible to those with lighter skin.

Furthermore, M&S dropped industry standard colour names, such as ‘tobacco’, in favour of new names, such as opaline, topaz and rose quartz.

Laura Charles, the director of M&S Lingerie, said: “We are the UK market leaders in bras and knickers and with that comes a responsibility to ensure what we sell makes all of our customers feel fantastic.

“We listened when our customers and colleagues told us we hadn’t got it right when it came to colour; both in the choices available and the way we talked about the neutral shades.”

She added: “The global conversations around race and equality over the last 12 months spurred us to go faster in creating a better, more inclusive range.

“From the product offer to the names, to the marketing, we’ve worked hand in hand with our colleague Culture and Heritage network to deliver a campaign we’re proud of and an underwear range that provides more colours, more sizes and more choice so that all of our customers have the freedom to complement or contrast with their individual skin tone in a way that suits their own personal style.”