Crayola Announces New Skin Tone-Inspired Crayon Box to Promote Inclusivity

Crayola has launched a new box of crayons, called "Colors of the World," which features 24 new colors that aims to promote inclusivity and diversity.

May 21, 2020

Crayola’s newest crayon launch focuses on inclusivity.

The company has announced that with its “Colors of the World” crayon box, it hopes to “cultivate a more inclusive world for children of all ages, races, cultures, and ethnicities.”

The new packs will include 24 new crayon colors that represent more than 40 skin tones from around the world, with colors like medium album, deep golden, deep rose, and more. The box features a color reference side panel, which shows each crayon’s name in English, Spanish, and French.

"With the world growing more diverse than ever before, Crayola hopes our new Colors of the World crayons will increase representation and foster a greater sense of belonging and acceptance," Crayola CEO Rich Wuerthele said in a statement. "We want the new Colors of the World crayons to advance inclusion within creativity and impact how kids express themselves."

The art supplies company developed the colors through "rigorous consumer testing" and a collaboration with MOB Beauty CEO Victor Casale. According to Crayola, Casale has more than 30 years of experience "in creating foundation colors for global skin tones," thus making him a solid partner to guarantee the new colors reflect an "accurate and inclusive skin tone palette."

Casale worked with Crayola for eight months to create "inclusive foundation shades."

"I have spent my life trying to create truly global shade palettes because I know what it's like to be with a person who has finally found their exact match," Casale said in a statement. "They feel included and recognized, and I am hoping every child who uses these crayons and finds their shade will have that feeling."

"Growing up, I remember mixing the pink and dark brown crayons to try and make my shade, so I was thrilled when Crayola asked for my help to create the Colors of the World crayons," he added.

The crayons come in a 24 or 32-count pack, with the latter including four hair- and four eye-color crayons. Both will be available to purchase in July before school starts. You can pre-order the 24-count pack from Crayola’s website. The 32-count pack is available for pre-order from Walmart, where it will be sold exclusively.