The new “Wear Their Names” line of jewelry for sale online is drawing lots of intense criticism by many people worldwide for what they say is its exploitative character.
This particular line of jewelry is built around pieces of broken glass gathered up during the aftermath of the riots that took place in that city. Each piece has a unique name of a black victim of violence engraved into it.
Paul Chelmis and Jing Wen, who are a couple, came up with this idea as, according to them, an “innovative” new product line for their company, Shansui. Wen commented that she wanted to “Make something beautiful out of the rubble.” They decided to call the project “Wear Their Names” as a bit of a play on the phrase “Say Their Names” used during protests.
The pieces have the names of victims such as Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and many others.
However, many people are up in arms about this new product line. Mika Gadsen, a Charleston area activist who was present at the riots, tweeted:
“This is disgusting. SHAME on Shanshui for exploiting Black death for commercial gain. No matter how much they donate, they stand to benefit financially and in other ways. This is reprehensible and offensive. This line needs to be pulled ASAP!!!”
Others were even more perturbed by the concept of “Wear Their Names”
Also is it just me, or is naming each accessory after victims of police brutality & then pricing them differently giving.....slave auction-ey vibes??? It’s as if the name attached to the product determines the monetary value of each life. That’s what I’m getting, it’s disturbing.
— sophie the cat lady (@sophieming_) September 8, 2020
Yet another compared the product line to “souvenirs white southerners would take after a lynching.”
Shansui responded by saying that a part of their proceeds would be donated to Black Lives Matter, which didn’t assuage any of the anger regarding their products. They then responded further by removing some, but not all, of the pieces from their product line.
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