Ahoy, Y’all!
Update: Indigo and Rice is now Oceanswept
We know that our customers love our fragrances and often have some favorites. However, after careful consideration, we have decided to change the name Indigo & Rice. It is now known as Oceanswept. In light of recent events, we feel it is our responsibility to acknowledge some hard truths about this country. From our founder, April-“A customer wrote to us about this product and they suggested changing the name. I was floored this hadn’t occurred to me during this time, because there have been times in the past we discussed changing the name, but we didn’t act on it.”
The name Indigo and Rice refers to South Carolina’s two largest exports in the 1700s. When we released the fragrance so many years ago, we named it as a nod to our Charleston home. We, as a company, realize that this name is insensitive and whitewashes these hard truths. Millions of enslaved men, women, and children were forced to endure a lifetime of brutality to grow and harvest these products, and for generations, the entire black community has continued to suffer the effects of systemic racism and oppression.
As we reflect, listen, and learn more about acknowledging the white privilege within ourselves and the walls of our business, discontinuing this product is a step we decided to take. We acknowledge that even taking this time to reflect and learn about something of this magnitude that’s been happening for hundreds of years is an example of white privilege. We are striving to be a better example, a better business, and better individually. We thank you, our loyal customers, for understanding this decision and the timing of it. As we sail forward we will strive to continue to think of others before ourselves and to educate ourselves in order to be an example of the change that we would like to see in the world.
Ahoy,
The Old Whaling Company Family
