For Mars Associates, coming together for Pride Month means so much more this year. While the Stonewall riots remain an important reflection point, the fight against systemic injustice demands attention today.

“As important as Pride remains a half century later, my thoughts are on the events of today. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery—and so many before them—followed by a righteous cry for justice, dominate the world around us,” said Leonid Sudakov, president of Kinship, the innovation division of Mars Petcare. “I can only reflect on Pride Month through the lens of the current cry for civil rights from a population past the limits of all endurance.”

Pride is rooted in the pursuit of equality—and we know there can’t be world pride unless it’s an intersectional approach. We recognize the urgency and responsibility we have to help drive the changes we want to see for racial equity and to foster an environment of inclusion for all. 

We are grateful for the brave voices of our Associates and we know it’s going to take a collective effort from all of us—individuals, communities and organizations all around the world to replace discrimination with humanity, empathy and caring.

“Pride’s ever-growing acronym (LGBTQIA+) has always been meant to show the evolving inclusivity of our movement. At its best, our community is about solidarity between the often very different social inequities faced by the Ls, Gs, Bs and Ts,” Associate Garrett Clark said. “At its best, Pride is a promise of ‘I’ve got your back,’ and understanding the importance of standing up, and for, one another.”

This year for Pride Month, SKITTLES^® gave up its signature rainbow by removing its iconic colorful branding to celebrate pride and the LGBTQ+ community and highlight that during Pride, only #OneRainbow is important. For the first time in the U.S., SKITTLES^® released limited-edition Colorless Pride Packs, featuring tonal gray packaging and a faint red SKITTLES^® outline, while the candy itself is colorless. As part of the launch, the brand also announced a partnership with GLAAD, the world's leading LGBTQ+ media advocacy group. During the month of June, $1 per pack purchased will be donated to GLAAD (up to $100,000).

"The funding that GLAAD receives from the SKITTLES^® Pride Packs will support our news and campaigns program, which tells culture-changing stories of LGBTQ+ people and issues across the media year-round,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said.

We stand with our Associates who make us #ProudlyMars by building a better world for tomorrow through their allyship and action, today.