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In a perfect world, every time we buy anything, women-owned or not, we’d do so with a fully informed point of view. We’d have a complete understanding of companies and their values, where each thing is made and by whom, and anything else that would make us feel okay about spending our money. Furthermore, companies would always be transparent about the cost of production, and supply-chain details would be crystal clear. The actual world is, obviously, imperfect, as are all of us. The idea of shopping with a conscience 100% of the time is almost laughable in its idealism: We’re busy, we need something immediately, we’re on a budget, we really like that cute top that was just served to us via an Instagram ad or TikTok Shop.
At Glamour we talk a lot about the emotional incongruity that comes with genuinely loving to shop but doing so frequently and without intention, something I’m profoundly guilty of. (I recently bought a pair of black cropped pants from a fast-fashion giant, shoved them in my closet, and bought them again a few weeks later, forgetting I already owned them. I know.)
At our core we’re a brand that celebrates style, beauty, wellness, and culture, and frequently explores how those arenas intersect to represent the changing needs and wants of women. We understand that part of the fun of engaging with these topics is trusting sites like ours to help you discover things to buy—things we all know we probably don’t need but that might make our routines easier or simply bring us joy. That isn’t going to change, but we acknowledge the importance of regularly spotlighting companies and products that are authentic and are willing to take a stand for something besides wanting our dollars.
Few business owners do this better than women.
We know this because, for the second year in a row we’ve compiled a list of brands and companies across style, beauty, wellness, and home that are 51% or more owned by women or a group of women. for our By Women series in which we highlight the wide breadth of brands owned and, frequently, operated by women.
Below is the Glamour 100, an editor-curated shopping destination that features 100 women-owned products we love. Some brands are already major players in their fields (hello, Beautyblender), some have found viral success and can only grow (Fishwife’s stylish tinned seafood, for example), and some are only a few years old and are making a name for themselves by creative quality, exquisite items you’ll have forever (Silver & Riley’s timeless leather bags.)
And if you’re rolling your eyes, saying, “They’re supporting women by asking us to shop?” Actually, yes. To launch a small business is an incredibly difficult proposition. While there are more women-owned businesses in the US than ever before (great news, as they generally translate to increased profits, more diverse workforces, and a commitment to work-life balance and fair paid-leave policies), they face greater challenges. Female entrepreneurs are usually offered smaller loans at higher interest rates and generally get the short end of the stick in terms of financing. (Last year US start-ups with all-women teams received 1.9%—or around $4.5 billion—of the approximate $238.3 billion in venture capital allocated, according to Pitchbook via Techcrunch.)
