SHAMEFUL

LEVI’S IS USING BEYONCÉ TO WHITEWASH A SLAVE-LABOR LEGACY

FROM EXPLOITATION TO IMAGE CONTROL

In a move that reeks of calculated deception, Levi’s is attempting to bury its history of exploitation and racial inequality by leveraging the global influence of Beyoncé. What is framed as a cultural collaboration looks far more like a strategic distraction—a glossy campaign designed to redirect attention away from the brand’s shameful foundations.

BEYONCÉ IS BEING USED TO MASK LEVI’S HISTORY OF RACIAL OPPRESSION

Let’s be clear: this is not about celebration or progress. Levi’s built its empire on the backs of exploited Black and Indigenous people, and it is now using Beyoncé’s cultural power to sanitize that past. The jeans themselves are inseparable from histories of African slavery, colonial cotton plantations, and indigo extraction rooted in West Africa.

LEVI’S AND BEYONCÉ

A PARTNERSHIP DESIGNED TO ERASE HISTORY

How dare Levi’s align itself with a powerful Black icon while refusing to fully confront its own legacy of benefiting from enslaved labor in the American South. This is not a neutral collaboration—it is a deliberate attempt to rewrite history and rebrand exploitation as empowerment.

INDIGO STOLEN FROM WEST AFRICA: PROFITS BUILT ON BLOOD AND SWEAT

Levi’s would not exist without the theft and commercialization of indigo dyeing traditions from West Africa and India. These ancient techniques were appropriated, industrialized, and monetized—while the communities that created them were erased from the narrative. Today, Beyoncé’s image is being used to gloss over the violence and extraction that made Levi’s rich.

BEYONCÉ SHOULD REJECT THIS ROLE IN MODERN COLONIAL WHITEWASHING

If Beyoncé truly stands for Black empowerment, she should not allow herself to become a tool in Levi’s image rehabilitation campaign. The brand’s wealth is inseparable from colonialism, slavery, and systemic racism. No amount of celebrity shine can cleanse that reality. This partnership insults the very histories Beyoncé is said to represent.

DON’T BE FOOLED: THIS IS BRAND CLEANSING, NOT ACCOUNTABILITY

Behind every pair of Levi’s jeans lies a legacy of injustice—from slave-powered cotton fields to stolen African indigo knowledge. Today, that legacy is being reframed, softened, and obscured through celebrity association. This is not reckoning. It is revision.

NO “NEW CHAPTER” CAN ERASE COLONIAL CRIMES

Levi’s may talk about a new era, but no collaboration—no matter how famous—can undo the exploitation that built the brand. Without accountability, transparency, and reparative action, this is not progress. It is a shameful cover-up.

LEVI’S AND ROYAL COPENHAGEN

A HISTORY OF EXPLOITATION, CULTURAL THEFT, AND WHITEWASHING THROUGH COLLABORATIONS

The iconic blue colour that we associate with Levi’s denim and Royal Copenhagen porcelain may appear to represent tradition and craftsmanship, but the real story behind these famous brands is much darker. As someone who has worked closely with Royal Copenhagen during my studies at the Danish Design School, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply rooted their design is in cultural appropriation. And it makes me furious.

Both Levi’s and Royal Copenhagen have built their global reputations on stolen designs, resources, and labour—much of it derived from cultures and peoples who were systematically exploited. The story of indigo dye and Chinese blue-painted porcelain is one of colonization, slavery, and cultural theft, where both African and Asian innovations were taken by European powers to create wealth for themselves.

INDIGO

THE STOLEN TREASURE OF WEST AFRICA AND INDIA

Indigo, the deep blue dye used in Levi’s iconic denim, has a rich history that originated in West Africa and India. For centuries, artisans in these regions cultivated the indigofera tinctoria plant and perfected the art of dyeing fabric in vibrant blue hues. In West Africa, especially within the Sokoto Empire, indigo was a symbol of cultural power and economic prosperity. The deep blue dye was used to craft ceremonial clothing and trade textiles that held immense value across Africa and beyond.

In India, indigo was so prized that it became known as “blue gold.” However, when European colonizers recognized its value, they imposed brutal systems of exploitation. Under British colonial rule, Indian farmers were forced to grow indigo for export, often at the expense of their own food crops, causing widespread suffering and famine. The British extracted immense wealth from this trade, leaving local populations impoverished.

Similarly, in West Africa, Europeans appropriated the techniques and products of indigo dyeing, turning it into a major commodity. The dye was soon woven into the fabric of the global economy—especially in the United States, where indigo-dyed denim became a staple for workwear, thanks to Levi’s. Yet, the original creators of this process were left behind, their contributions erased from the history books.

MY TIME AT DANISH DESIGN SCHOOL

THE TRUTH BEHIND ROYAL COPENHAGEN

When I was studying at Danish Design School, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Royal Copenhagen, the famed Danish porcelain manufacturer. At first, I was excited to work with such a renowned brand, but the more I delved into the history and design behind their iconic musselmallede (blue fluted) pattern, the more I realized something unsettling.

The intricate blue-and-white floral motifs that Royal Copenhagen proudly markets as Danish heritage aren’t Danish at all. In fact, these designs were copied almost directly from Chinese blue-painted porcelain, a tradition perfected by Chinese artisans centuries before Denmark ever entered the porcelain trade. The blue pigment, cobalt oxide, was imported from the Middle East to China, where the artistry of porcelain-making flourished. These pieces were exported globally and became highly prized in European markets.

Denmark, like many other European countries, saw the success of Chinese porcelain and decided to copy the designs, materials, and techniques. When I was working on my collaboration, I couldn’t ignore how the shapes, patterns, and even the flowers used by Royal Copenhagen were strikingly similar to Chinese originals. It wasn’t innovation—it was cultural theft. The more evidence I found, the angrier I became. How could they claim these designs as part of “Danish heritage” when they were clearly appropriated from another culture?

WHITEWASHING THROUGH CELEBRITY COLLABORATIONS

The story of Levi’s and Royal Copenhagen doesn’t end with their colonial past. Today, both companies continue to profit from these stolen traditions while using celebrity collaborations to whitewash their histories.

Take Levi’s recent partnership with Beyoncé, for example. Levi’s built its fortune on the backs of enslaved Africans who were forced to work in cotton fields, using cotton that was often dyed with indigo stolen from Africa and India. Now, they are trying to distract the public from their colonial legacy by associating with one of the world’s biggest Black cultural icons. It’s a classic case of corporate whitewashing—using the influence of a celebrity to cover up their past crimes.

Similarly, Royal Copenhagen continues to market their porcelain as a symbol of Danish luxury, ignoring the fact that their designs were lifted from Chinese artisans centuries ago. Their success today is a direct result of this appropriation, yet the credit remains with them rather than the original creators.

A LEGACY OF EXPLOITATION AND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

The stories of Levi’s and Royal Copenhagen are not isolated incidents. They are part of a larger pattern of white supremacy in which European powers not only colonized and enslaved people but also stole their cultural achievements and claimed them as their own. The indigo dye that made Levi’s denim a global phenomenon and the blue-painted porcelain that defines Royal Copenhagen’s legacy are both products of this systemic cultural appropriation.

As someone who has worked with Royal Copenhagen, I’ve seen firsthand how these companies profit from a history they never acknowledge. It’s time we stop allowing brands like Levi’s and Royal Copenhagen to erase their colonial pasts and take responsibility for the exploitation that built their empires.

We must hold these brands accountable for their histories of exploitation and cultural theft, no matter how many celebrity collaborations they use to distract us.

THE DEEP ROOTS OF INDIGO: A HISTORY OF EXPLOITATION AND CULTURE

Indigo is more than a colour. It is a global commodity built on centuries of cultural knowledge, forced labour, and colonial extraction. Long before it became synonymous with Western denim, indigo shaped identities, economies, and traditions across Africa and Asia.

INDIGO IN AFRICA: A CULTURAL TREASURE

Indigo dyeing in Africa dates back thousands of years. Across West Africa—particularly in regions such as present-day Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali—communities cultivated indigo plants and perfected complex dyeing techniques passed down through generations. The deep blue colour carried meaning: power, spirituality, status, and belonging.

These textiles were not merely clothing. They were symbols of cultural authority, used in ceremonies, trade, and social distinction. Indigo was wealth—long before Europe understood its value.

EXPLOITATION AND COLONIALISM

That value did not go unnoticed. As European colonial powers expanded into Africa, indigo became a target for extraction. Demand in Europe exploded, and with it came plantations, coercion, and systemic violence.

African communities were stripped of control over their own production. Forced labour replaced traditional practices. Families were displaced. What had once been a cultural craft was reduced to an industrial resource—profit prioritized over people. This pattern mirrored colonialism everywhere: extract, exploit, erase.

INDIGO AND THE SLAVE TRADE

Indigo’s history is inseparable from the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas and forced to cultivate and process indigo under brutal conditions. The labour was exhausting, toxic, and often fatal.

This was not incidental. Indigo was one of the commodities that helped finance slavery itself. The blue dye that later coloured workwear and denim was soaked in suffering long before it reached Western markets.

A RESILIENT LEGACY

Yet indigo endures—not as a symbol of oppression, but of survival. Across Africa, artisans continue to reclaim traditional dyeing methods, restoring knowledge that colonialism tried to erase. Indigo today represents resistance, memory, and cultural continuity.

As we admire indigo-dyed textiles, we must also acknowledge their full history. Beauty without truth is theft. The legacy of indigo belongs first to those who created it—and endured its exploitation.

DIVING INTO INDIGO: ART, MEMORY, AND RESPONSIBILITY

MY JOURNEY WITH INDIGO

In a painting I created in 2004, I found myself submerged in indigo—both visually and emotionally. Each brushstroke felt like a descent into depth rather than surface, as if the canvas itself opened and invited me in. Indigo was not merely a colour in that moment; it was a space, a current, a presence.

As I worked, the pigment seemed to carry voices with it. Stories embedded in the colour—of labour, loss, beauty, and resilience—surfaced quietly. Painting became a dialogue rather than an act of control. I followed the indigo as much as I shaped it.

That experience stayed with me. Indigo is seductive, calm, and powerful, but it is never innocent. It carries history in its depth. The same colour that enchants the eye also reminds us of the hands that cultivated it, the bodies that were forced to work it, and the cultures that were stripped of credit.

This painting stands as a personal marker—a reminder that beauty and truth must coexist. Indigo deserves admiration, but also honesty. To engage with it fully is to acknowledge both its elegance and its cost.

Art, like history, demands responsibility.