Did you know that only 16% of NFT artists are women? According to ArtTactic’s research, women’s NFT artworks have only accounted for 5% of the total NFT sales thus far.
L’Oréal Paris USA has been calling out the lack of female representation in the NFT space and is taking steps to differentiate itself with its own NFT program. The beauty brand announced in a press release that they will be commissioning five female artists to NFT art inspired by the brand’s six shades of red in its new Reds of Worth by Colour Riche lipstick line. The commissioned artists include Amber Vittoria, Arina BB, Hueman, Lili Tae, and Puks.
NFT recap
NFTs have been a hot topic for a few months now, but let’s do a quick recap so that we are all on the same page. NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, are unique assets that can’t be replaced with something else and are verified and stored using blockchain technology. NFTs gain their value from being one-of-a-kind, giving the owner a digital certificate of ownership that is exclusively theirs. NFTs can be anything from music to a website domain, but as we all know, digital artwork has been the trending focus.
L’Oréal’s NFT mission
The beauty brand announced in a press release that the Reds of Worth NFT campaign is meant to close the gap between the lack of representation. The campaign directly aligns with the brand’s mission of female empowerment which has been constantly advertised throughout the years.
The digital art pieces were auctioned off on the OpenSea marketplace between Dec. 13 through Dec. 15, with an individual open floor price of $1,500. The artists retained 100 percent of the primary sales.
Like many brands today have widely worked to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion in their marketing messaging, company culture, and partnerships, this hasn’t been entirely true across the board. ArtTactic’s November Art Market Report cited that the newly viral digital collectible art sector has mostly neglected to encourage these efforts so far.
“Before we throw ourselves into the metaverse, it might be a good idea to stop and ask ourselves what we want this digital universe to look like, before we repeat our mistakes from the past,” ArtTactic founder Anders Petterson admitted in the intro to the November report.
The proceeds from the sale of L’Oréal’s NFTs will go towards an important cause cherished by the brand. Half of up to one year of secondary market sales are planned on being donated to L’Oréal’s Women of Worth philanthropic initiative which recognizes women making remarkable differences in their communities. The program is being executed in a partnership with UTA, a talent, sports, and entertainment company.
