The biggest shopping weekend of the year is upon us, but before you ready your wallets for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consider shopping the Gold Rush, a 48-hour sale supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander founders, many of whom are behind some of your favorite fashion and beauty companies. From Nov. 20 through Nov. 22, you'll be able to score major deals from K-Beauty retailers like Soko Glam, Glow Recipe, and Peach & Lily, as well as fashion brands 3.1 Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, Asian American Girl Club, and Dagne Dover.
But what is the Gold Rush? And why is it happening? This shopping event was created by Gold House, the largest collective of Asian American cultural leaders. You may be familiar with the organization's #GoldOpen movement, which helped drive support for movies like Crazy Rich Asians, Parasite, The Farewell, and Searching (all of which were brought to life by Asian directors, writers, and actors). According to a press release, Gold Rush was created in response to Harvard Business Review's report that Asians are the least likely to get promoted to management. However, in the last decade, Asian founders and leaders created nearly 20% of businesses valued over $1 billion, totaling to more than 2 million AAPI-owned businesses today — 39% of which are led by women. The Gold Rush sale isn't just an opportunity to nab your beloved Glass Skin Refining Serum for 30% off — it's your chance to learn about other incredible Asian American-founded brands and support the AAPI community.
These deals are no joke either — many of the participating brands are offering up to 50% off their goods, which typically never go on sale at all. What's more, each company will also select one winner to receive a once-in-a-lifetime gift, like a fashion week experience, a private pre-order of a runway collection, or a skin consultation with a beauty brand founder. They will be viewable at goldhouse.org/GoldRush on Monday.