Walmart announced this week that it is no longer implementing a long-standing policy in which products for people of color were locked at some stores.
CBS reported the company said on Wednesday that it will end the practice, no longer keeping multicultural hair care and beauty products locked behind a glass display.
On Twitter, the discrepancy and practice have been highlighted for some time, but most recently CBS Denver reporter Tori Mason illustrated the difference in the beauty product displays in a video. In one part of the store, products such as Suave, Old Spice and Pantene are available on open shelves, while products marketed toward black people and people of color, such as Carol's Daughter, Shea Moisture and Cantu, are locked behind glass displays.
"As a retailer serving millions of customers every day from diverse backgrounds, Walmart does not tolerate discrimination of any kind," the retailer said in a statement to CBS Denver. "Like other retailers, the cases were put in place to deter shoplifters from some products such as electronics, automotive, cosmetics and other personal care products.
“We’re sensitive to the issue and understand the concerns raised by our customers and members of the community and have made the decision to discontinue placing multicultural hair care and beauty products – a practice in place in about a dozen of our 4,700 stores nationwide – in locked cases.”
Lorenzo Lopez, a spokesman for Walmart, told NBC News the company would implement the policy change “as soon as possible.”
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