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5 Companies with A Dark History
1. Chanel
Chanel is one of the most prestigious, timeless, and beloved luxury brands in the world. Founded by Coco Chanel in 1910 in Paris, France, the company and the brand quickly established itself as the staple luxury brand for women’s clothing and make-up. However, Chanel’s name was tainted in 2014, when it was revealed through a documentary by France3, a national broadcast channel, that Coco Chanel was a spy for Nazi Germany during World War II. Chanel was revealed to have been in a close relationship with Nazi officials since the German invasion of France in 1940 and was given spy tasks by 1941. Her tasks involved recruiting potential spies for the Nazi intelligence in Spain and France. This came as a shock to many and caused a boycott of Chanel products in the same year the documentary was aired in France.
2. L’Oreal
L’Oreal is the world’s largest cosmetics company with a market cap of 220 billion Euros and 88,000 employees. Founded by Eugene Schueller in 1909 in Paris, France, L’Oreal started off as a hair dye company named after Schueller’s dye formula called the Oreale. Schueller, like Chanel, also have a dark past of corroborating with the Nazis during and around World War II. Schueller was a member of a fascist secret society in the 1930s that praised the Nazi party. When…
