Could This Lifestyle Website Be the Next — More “Inclusive” — Goop?
Erica Reid created nécessité because “I could not find anything in the beauty and health space that spoke to women of color.”
It was the spring of 2018.
I was in LA shooting a story for CBS Sunday Morning when a package arrived at my hotel room.
It was a box and inside were some chic beauty products and a grey sweatshirt with one word splashed across the front: nécessité.
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My friend Erica Reid was announcing to me — and the world — that the project she’d been working on for months and months was finally launching.
But what is nécessité?
It’s a little like Goop… but for everyone.
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You see, Erica started nécessité because, when she’d search for articles online about health and wellness, there was nothing that spoke to her — a woman of color.
“We were not part of the conversation.”
At nécessité, inclusivity is the mantra.
Have a look, you may learn a thing or two.
But before you do, take a minute to read about how Erica Reid is changing the way we all think about health.
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW
ALINA CHO: If nécessité is about inclusivity, what is it?
ERICA REID: It’s about addressing the needs of a woman. How can we be motivated, how can we be inspired, how can we learn, how can we grow, but through health, because we are constantly evolving, but when we don't have the proper tools, we can't achieve those goals in that space.
ALINA CHO: There was one story, one headline that grabbed me, and, frankly, I didn't know what it was until I clicked on the story.
ERICA REID: Let me guess, Diwali?
ALINA CHO: No. “What is Uncombable Hair Syndrome?”
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ERICA REID: You really did not know about it?
ALINA CHO: No.
ERICA REID: So, if you did not know, then a lot of people don't know, I guess.
ALINA CHO: So, what is it?
ERICA REID: It’s when your hair is basically so coarse, you can't contain It.
ALINA CHO: Literally can't comb it.
ERICA REID: It’s rare, but it exists and with nécessité I want to educate, I want to bring awareness to people.
ALINA CHO: Yeah.
ERICA REID: I don't want you to feel alone. I know what that feeling is. I've had my own health challenges, I've birthed two children with health challenges, and I was alone on that journey. So, I'm trying to bring to the forefront information that really affects us all.
ALINA CHO: So, it's beauty and wellness, but it's also a lot on food, right?
ERICA REID: Yes.
ALINA CHO: One thing I really love is that each month you do a story about what kinds of vegetables are in season.
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ERICA REID: Thank you so much.
ALINA CHO: Why is that so important? You say you should buy what's in season.
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ERICA REID: Absolutely. If it is not growing where you are, you should not be eating it.
ALINA CHO: I didn’t know that.
ERICA REID: If you are eating pineapple in January in New York, that pineapple is not grown anywhere in January, so why are you eating it? That's why local is important. Local means you're eating what's in your area. It’s different than organic. It’s local — it's not coming from Chile, it's not coming from England, it's not coming from Mexico.
ALINA CHO: And why is that so bad?
ERICA REID: Because you're losing the nutrients along the way. It’s not shipping FedEx and getting to your home [immediately]. It’s on its way to expiration.
ALINA CHO: Gosh, I never even thought about that.
ERICA REID: Yeah, but a lot of people don't think about it. And that's [what] nécessité is [all] about — it’s about educating, showing us how to care for ourselves and applying these simple tools.
THE DAILY DOSE
ALINA CHO: I get your Daily Dose [of Inspiration] every morning.
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It’s the first thing I read every morning.
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I really love it.
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ERICA REID: When 2020 happened, I was cleaning out like everybody else was, and I found a piece of paper dated 2006. I wrote on this piece of paper, “Daily dose equals inspiration.” And I knew it was something I wanted to do, but I hadn’t [figured out, yet] what that daily dose [would be]. Then, when nécessité was birthed, I was like, “You know what? I've got to do this daily dose of something.” And I kept finding these quotes, mantras, positivity, and I wanted to feed people this. I want people to start their day with this.
ALINA CHO: They're so inspiring. You read them and you think, “I can conquer the world.” That's the idea, right?
ERICA REID: That's the intent, yeah. We want people, and especially women, to feel empowered. We really have the tools within us, we really do.
SHOWING GRATITUDE
ALINA CHO: I love that you can shop on nécessité. You also have something called The Closet. What was your idea behind The Closet and why was it important to make that a component of nécessité?
ERICA REID: Because we're inclusive, I thought, “How can we offer luxury items?”
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ALINA CHO: But not at luxury prices.
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ERICA REID: But not at luxury prices. It really came about because I’ve donated all my life. I used to ship boxes of clothes to Africa. Then, I started donating to women's shelters. And Alina, over time, I am not exaggerating, God is my witness, I started getting turned down. "Sorry, we can't take your clothes." And I'm like, "What do you mean you can't take my clothes? You're a shelter.” Every single place said the same thing. "We're at full capacity. We have no storage space for it.”
ALINA CHO: Wow.
ERICA REID: So, when I was working on nécessité, I said, “Okay, not only do I want it to be affordable, but what we do is we sell it and we donate proceeds to charity.”
ALINA CHO: Oh, I didn't realize that.
ERICA REID: Everything. Items from The Shop, items from The Closet, the Gratitude Candle.
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Pretty much every sector within nécessité, we donate. If there’s a way to make a purchase, there's a way to give back.
ALINA CHO: That’s so great.
ERICA REID: We always say, “When you're about to light the candle, when you blow it out, say three things you're grateful for.” Just say three things you're grateful for.
ALINA CHO: What is the big dream for nécessité?
ERICA REID: I want skincare, I want food products…
ALINA CHO: What about a store? Would you ever open a store?
ERICA REID: I would love a brick and mortar. And I know how I would do it. It's just about the stars aligning and the universe saying, "It's now your time."