Why Did H&M End Its Partnership With Buy From a Black Woman?

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Retailer H&M has suddenly ended its four-year-long partnership with the nonprofit Buy From a Black Woman. In a statement to WWD, a spokesperson said, “While it was not H&M’s decision to end the partnership, we wish Buy From A Black Woman the very best in their future endeavors as they embark in a new direction.”

Founded by Nikki Porcher, Buy From a Black Woman offered a directory of Black-owned businesses and resources for Black-owned businesses including educational tools, grants, and scholarships. The retailer partnered with the organization in 2021, sponsoring networking events, business courses, accelerator programs, and the annual Inspire Tour. The tour highlighted business owners in cities across the U.S. and in 2024 expanded to parts of Canada.

The ending of this partnership was a tipping point, according to Porcher, and was a decision eventually made by both parties after several disagreements involving events. On February 3, she alleged that one of their key events had been canceled and another had been changed without any communication. Porcher ultimately felt disrespected by these sudden changes and lack of communication, seeking legal counsel for breach of contract.

After some contract negotiations, they ended their partnership. In another statement, the retailer said it regretted how the communication ended the partnership and denied how the contract negotiations were portrayed to WWD. In the wake of the news, Porcher shared this as a learning experience, she explained. Across the Buy From a Black Woman socials, the organization shared on March 3 that it would be “pausing certain operations to focus on internal properties.”

The ending of this partnership coincides with a sweeping rollback of DEI initiatives from major retailers following the current administration’s signing of an executive order to end DEI programs in the federal government. Major retailers like Walmart and Target subsequently struck a boycott of Target and one-day economic blackout targeting big businesses.

H&M responded to the article by saying: “While it was not H&M’s decision to end the partnership, we wish Buy From A Black Woman the very best in their future endeavors as they embark in a new direction. H&M’s commitment to partnerships and programs highlighting inclusion and diversity remain unchanged, and we look forward to developing these in exciting new directions.”

This post has been updated.