Crayola Is Launching a Line of Crayons to Represent the World's Skin Tones
Crayola’s newest product aims to put inclusion front and center. The arts-and-crafts brand recently announced they will release a new “Colors of the World” line of crayons, designed to represent a variety of skin tones.
CNN reports that the 24-pack of crayons, which is slated for a July release, is meant to be representative of over 40 different skin tones. “With the world growing more diverse than ever before, Crayola hopes our new Colors of the World crayons will increase representation and foster a greater sense of belonging and acceptance,” explained Crayola CEO Rich Wuerthele in a press release, per CNN. “We want the new Colors of the World crayons to advance inclusion within creativity and impact how kids express themselves.”
As some noted on social media, this isn't the first time Crayola attempted to expand its range of crayons modeled after skin tones. “We first launched our Multicultural collection in 1992,” the official Twitter account for the brand clarified on May 22. “The new Colors of the World crayons include 24 newly formulated crayon colors representing more than 40 global skin tones.”
Others have taken to social media to joke that Crayola’s new line of crayons has a bigger shade range than some makeup brands. There’s certainly room to improve in the beauty industry when it comes to shade range, but fortunately there are brands (hello, Fenty) that are paving the way to show others how it’s done.
Interestingly enough, Crayola partnered with Victor Casale, CEO and co-founder of MOB Beauty, while creating its “Colors of the World” products. Casale, who has also worked as chief chemist and R&D managing director at MAC, told Allure that when creating the crayon colors, the team followed a process not too unlike the ones beauty brands use when creating foundations. Beginning with the lightest and darkest shades, Casale and the Crayola team worked through the colors in between, incorporating different undertones for the various shades. “We landed on Rose for the pink undertone, Almond for the neutral undertone, and golden for the yellow/olive undertone,” he explained, adding: “This is exactly the science and treatment I have used to create global shade palettes for the beauty industry.”
Ultimately, the value of a shade range — whether it’s a bottle of foundation or a crayon — is much more impactful than the product itself. As Casale put it in conversation with Allure: “The desire for inclusivity begins at a young age, and through adequate representation, children are able to feel confident, included, and important — just like an adult feels when they find their perfect shade at the beauty counter.”
Crayola’s “Colors of the World” line will be available in July. You can learn more and pre-order here.
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