The month of June is Pride Month, and is a time to validate, support, and love our LGBTQIA2+ friends, family, and colleagues.
Cannabis wellness company, Papa & Barkley, has pledged 1% of online revenue throughout the month of June to be donated to an LGBTQIA2+ organization in support of queer youth mental health services.
About Papa & Barkley
Papa & Barkley is a cannabis company that creates products driven by wellness. From pain relief, to sleep aids, and anti-anxiety solutions, Papa & Barkley harnesses the power of cannabis and transforms that power into real, healing change.
Papa & Barkley’s founder, Adam Grossman, named the company after his father (Papa) and his dad’s beloved dog (Barkley). His dad, who had been suffering from chronic, all-consuming back pain for many years had exercised all of his options, and nothing was bringing him relief.
With cannabis, borrowed by a good friend and a crock-pot, Adam got to cooking and created the first version of what has now become the company’s most popular seller; their Releaf Balm.
Miraculously, Grossman’s dad’s pain improved tremendously and even got him off hospice care. Since then, Papa & Barkley has become essential in the lives of so many struggling with chronic pain, garnering more than $2 million in revenue annually.
About Colors Youth
While Papa & Barkley prioritize health and wellness when it comes to anxiety and pain management, they also recognize the importance of mental health – particularly for marginalized groups.
This year, the cannabis company announced that it would be donating 1% of all online sales to Colors Youth. Colors Youth is an organization that offers individual, couples, and family counseling for LGBTQIA2+ youth to ensure that they have the mental health support they need in order to walk into their adulthood affirmed in their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Focusing on LGBTQIA2+ focused therapies, Colors Youth guides young queer people through difficult matters such as identity, self-esteem, and bullying. For queer youth, these facets are all the more important in building confidence and helping them to feel affirmed in their identities.
Grey + Grayson
The company also announced that it would be partnering with social media influencers and LGBTQIA2+ couple Grey + Grayson.
The pair are open supporters of Papa & Barkley products, and the partnership just made sense. Grey has openly discussed his use of the Papa & Barkley Releaf Balm and body oil while he was healing from his transition surgery.
The couple has also advocated for incorporating Papa & Barkley edibles into their date night routine to spice things up a little.
What This Means
There’s a reason all of this matters. It’s not uncommon for big brands to launch pride campaigns during the month of June. Calvin Klein, for example, launches an underwear line every year for the occasion. This year, even McDonald’s and Tinder hosted Pride month initiatives.
And while spreading awareness and expressing support for the movement is great, there is no denying that these campaigns generate hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of income for big companies, and oftentimes aren’t created with the purest of intentions.
Rather than launching a line of rainbow-themed products – don’t get us wrong, we love a good rainbow – Papa & Barkley is pledging to donate to an LGBTQIA2+ organization. Instead of asking its clientele to purchase fad products to show their support for the movement, their clients can instead continue to order the same products they know and love, knowing that a part of their purchase will go back to the LGBTQIA2+ community directly.
It’s also not uncommon for businesses and large brands to collaborate with influencers and celebrities. The celebrity status of artists like Shawn Mendes, Billie Eilish, and TikTok star Charli D’Amelio is a near-certain way to promise income.
Papa & Barkley on the other hand, have chosen to work alongside “smaller” creators who are members of the community, and who actively and openly advocate for the use of the company’s products. The best promotion is organic.
Papa & Barkley clearly recognizes that wellness encompasses far more than the physical. In recognizing the diversity of its clients, the company has committed to giving back to the LGBTQIA2+ community during the month of June.
While it might be easy to assume that this is just another company jumping on a marketable trend, their approach, and their intentional choice of collaborators say otherwise.
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