Crayola Celebrates Diversity with #MyColour Campaign on National Crayon Day
"Colors of the World" Crayons To Help Advance Inclusion Within Creativity
TORONTO, March 31, 2021 /CNW/ - In the past, National Crayon Day has been a day that Crayola announced the retirement of a crayon colour. In 2017, the company said goodbye to 'Dandelion.' But today, Crayola Canada is proud and excited to celebrate its Colors of the World crayons – 24 new specially formulated crayons – designed to mirror and represent over 40 global skin tones across the world. With the Colors of the World crayons, Crayola hopes to cultivate a more inclusive world for children of all ages, races, cultures and ethnicities.
In honour of National Crayon Day and to salute Canada's diverse culture, Crayola has launched the #MyColour campaign. On March 31, Crayola is calling on Canadians to express themselves through creativity by drawing a picture, championing a crayon colour and sharing a photo or story about what these new colours mean to them.
In celebration of every #MyColour and #ColorsoftheWorld hashtag used on March 31, Crayola will donate funds to selected organizations who are working towards a more inclusive Canada. Our 2021 recipients include the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA), the Figure Skating Diversity and Inclusion Alliance (FSDIA) and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto.
"Crayola is committed to advancing inclusion in the hopes of increasing representation and fostering a greater sense of belonging," says Margot Somerville, Director, Product Marketing & Communications at Crayola Canada. "The organizations we selected for this campaign, are making a real impact in the lives of Canadians by challenging social norms and eradicating systematic racism and intolerance in their respective areas. We believe that if we enable kids with the opportunity to accurately colour themselves and the world around them, we can enable a more inclusive world," says Somerville.
To ensure the new Colors of the World product line was developed to reflect an accurate and inclusive skin tone palette, Crayola not only conducted rigorous consumer testing, but also partnered with Canadian beauty veteran Victor Casale. Casale, Co-founder and CEO of MOB Beauty and former Chief Chemist and Managing Director, R&D of MAC cosmetics, possesses over 30 years of experience in creating make-up foundation colours for global skin tones.
"I have spent my life trying to create truly global shade palettes because I know what it's like to be with a person who has finally found their exact match. They feel included and recognized, and I am hoping every child who uses these crayons and finds their shade will have that feeling," says Casale. "Growing up, I remember mixing the pink and dark brown crayons to try and make my shade, so I was thrilled when Crayola asked for my help to create the Colors of the World crayons."
The Colors of the World product line is now available at select retailers across Canada. In addition to crayon availability, coloured pencils and marker packs have also launched and feature side panels that serve as colour references. Each item is wrapped in a gradient skin tone label with the colour name in English and French, and purposefully has a realistic colour name – such as Light Golden, Deep Almond and Medium Deep Rose – all to help kids easily find the shade they identify as their own.
To learn more about Colors of the World, or download free colouring pages visit www.Crayola.ca or @crayola_canada on Instagram.
About Crayola Canada
Crayola LLC, based in Easton, Pa. and a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Incorporated, is the worldwide leader in children's creative expression products. Known for the iconic Crayola Crayon first introduced in 1903, the Crayola brand has grown into a portfolio of innovative art tools, crafting activities and creativity toys that offer children innovative new ways to use colour to create everything imaginable. Consumers can find the wide array of Crayola products in the "Crayola Aisle" at all major retailers. For more information visit www.crayola.ca or join the community at www.facebook.com/crayolacanada.
About Hockey Diversity Alliance
The Hockey Diversity Alliance was formed by nine current and former NHL players of colour to create a platform to end racism and intolerance in hockey. Both inspired and shocked by actions across North America in the wake of the death of George Floyd in 2020, and drawing on their own experience, these players quickly determined they could mobilize and draw attention and resources to help resolve the racism and intolerance they – and countless others – have faced throughout their lives and careers. To learn more visit hockeydiversityalliance.org or check out their Instagram at www.Instagram.com/theofficialhda.
About Figure Skating Diversity and Inclusion Alliance
The Figure Skating Diversity and Inclusion Alliance (FSDIA) is a diverse coalition of Olympic and World Team athletes, professional figure skaters and experienced coaches and educators who reflect a vast multi-national and multi-racial skating family. We were brought together by the current events highlighting the ongoing and pervasive anti-Black racism in our society. The FSDIA recognizes how these factors contribute both directly and indirectly to a lack of representation in figure skating and inadequate support and inclusion of Black and Brown people in the sport. Visit fsdia.org or @figureskatingdia for more information.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto
At BBBST, we aspire to build thriving communities by empowering lives through mentorship. We do this by enabling life-changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people. We believe that every child has the right to reach their full potential, the right to a bright future and the right to thrive. Our work has been proven to help break the cycles of violence, drug abuse, poverty and inequality. Many young people face adversities in their lives, resulting in toxic stress that can negatively impact their development. With the support of a mentor, young people can overcome these adversities and develop the confidence to reach their full potential. Visit https://bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/toronto or follow us @BBBSToronto for more information.
SOURCE Crayola Canada
Margot Somerville, Crayola, [email protected]; Caroline De Silva, Argyle PR, [email protected]
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