Hand Sanitizer Gift Box by Shoo Cosmetics
date: label: date made
content: 2020
name: label: maker
content: Vickers, Shawanda
notes: label: Description
content: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the COVID-19 outbreak had become a pandemic. Even before the WHO’s declaration, the CDC, newspapers and websites such as WebMD had begun to provide detailed guidance on how Americans could best protect themselves from the disease. CDC and public health advocates had always emphasized the importance of hand-washing but the early spring of 2020 saw a renewed emphasis on the importance of this practice. This emphasis stemmed, in part, from the widespread belief that COVID-19 easily and overwhelmingly spread from contact with contaminated surfaces.
label: Description
content: By early March, the news media had begun to report widespread shortages of sanitizer as supply chain problems prevented large companies from getting their products to stores. To fill the void created by the supply chain problems, several small companies developed and began marketing their own hand sanitizers. Shoo Cosmetics was one of many companies that shifted to manufacturing, marketing, and selling hand sanitizer during the pandemic.
label: Description
content: Shawanda Vickers, a former high school science teacher, had founded Shoo Cosmetics in 2016. Vickers created the company after becoming pregnant at the age of 40 and worrying about the safety of cosmetics and beauty products. Shoo marketed “cruelty-free” safe cosmetics which served women of diverse ethnicities.
label: Description
content: After Vickers found herself unable to find hand sanitizer in stores during the early days of the pandemic, she made and marketed her own. In developing her sanitizer, she drew on her background as a science teacher and followed FDA guidelines. As “a company,” Vickers said, “we had a lot of dark days that led to uncertainties during the pandemic [as]..sales were almost non-existent.” Manufacturing and selling hand sanitizer provided the company with a lifeline in 2020.
label: Description
content: In formulating and developing her sanitizer, Vickers said she “wanted the hand sanitizer to make the recipients feel safe…yet chic, during the pandemic.” Packaging was developed with an eye not only to what would appeal to customers but also to what would “create a conversation among strangers.” She used metallic and bright colored bottles, adding cards with optimistic quotes to each gift box..
label: Description
content: This blue bottle was specifically chosen to reflect the Gullah/Geeche folklore belief in the healing power of the color blue. In addition to the Blue Bottle Collection, the company created and sold other hand sanitizer collections which highlighted aspects of African American history: Juneteenth and Brown & Boujie. The hand sanitizer collections were sold on the internet and in brick and mortar stores in New Jersey. Shoo’s website noted that “one Bottle of Hand Sanitizer and Mask Kit will be donated to Essential Workers and Underserved Communities per purchase.”
label: Description
content: Sales of hand sanitizer grew over 600 per cent in 2020, becoming a $1.4 billion dollar industry. As supply chain problems continued to plague larger companies during the early months of the pandemic, small companies such as Shoo Cosmetics played an important role in supplying hand sanitizer to many Americans in the spring of 2020.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: general subject association; used; web subject
content: COVID-19 (Disease)
label: related event
content: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Shawanda Vickers
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2021.0157.01
label: catalog number
content: 2021.0157.01
label: accession number
content: 2021.0157
objectType: label: Object Name
content: gift box
label: Object Name
content: hand sanitizer
label: Object Type
content: Gift Box
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cardboard (gift box material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass; paper; plastic (hand sanitizer bottles material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (excelsior material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric (ribbon material)
label: Physical Description
content: cardstock (card material)
label: Measurements
content: ribbon (wide): 28 in x 1 5/8 in; 71.12 cm x 4.1275 cm
label: Measurements
content: ribbon (narrow): 42 in x 3/8 in; 106.68 cm x .9525 cm
label: Measurements
content: gift box (closed): 2 1/8 in x 6 3/4 in x 6 1/8 in; 5.3975 cm x 17.145 cm x 15.5575 cm
label: Measurements
content: bottle: 5 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in; 13.97 cm x 4.445 cm
label: Measurements
content: card: 4 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in; 10.795 cm x 13.97 cm