Racism in businesses is a sad reality in Brazil. The number of cases of black consumers who have suffered libel, prejudice, and psychological or physical aggression within stores grows exponentially every year.

Through a free plug-in for receipt printers, we transformed the receipt itself, a racist symbol in the country, into a tool directed to victims and witnesses to fight these cases of racism at the time they happen within the establishments, either by awareness or by making the receipt a platform for action and a reporting channel against these cases.

Cases of racism in businesses grew 800% between 2020 and 2022, according to the Brazilian Justice data. 251 deaths were confirmed in stores, and thousands of lawsuits were opened.

University Zumbi dos Palmares, Brazil’s only educational institution focused on the inclusion of black people, created the Racismo Zero program to fight this problem, with two courses of action: for companies, educating and training employees, and granting an "anti-racist" seal to those who have zero cases. And for consumers, serving as a reporting and emotional support channel.

One of the most frequent racist aggressions is being forced to show receipts when exiting stores to prove that they didn’t steal their own purchases.

It’s common to be followed by security guards and be forced to show receipts to avoid aggression. Not for acting suspicious, but simply for their color. The frequency and amount of these cases made the receipt a racist symbol.

Since childhood, black people are taught to carry their receipts to prove their innocence in case they are accused of theft. But if the receipt itself becomes a means of fighting this racist act, what was once a symbol of racism will now stop those who commit this aggression.

From this premise, a free plug-in for receipt printers was created that turns the receipt into a platform for action, directed for victims and witnesses, that, at the same time, educates and fights this racist act at the very moment it happens.

With the plug-in installed, store receipts have an educational role, presenting real stories of victims of these cases, related to the type of product of each establishment. But, most importantly, they become a denouncement channel. Just scan the resistance icon on the receipt to be directed to an official denouncement portal with legal and emotional advice.

Fighting racism in retail is only possible through education and anti-racist training for everyone working in establishments and their chain of suppliers, distributors, and partners. That is the core of the Racism Zero project. But for this to happen, we need companies to participate.

So, we highlighted one of the most common racist acts that happen in these consumer spaces: forcing black people to show their receipts to prove that they didn’t steal what they bought.

We did this through a plug-in for receipt printers that offers a reporting channel directed for victims in the receipt itself, generating awareness among the entire population.

Thus, we make companies uncomfortable and pressure them to participate. After all, if they do not become anti-racists, they are being apathetic and convenient with racism.

The plug-in keeps the features of any other receipt app, but turns the receipt itself into a reporting channel. There is a QR Code that, when scanned, directs users to a denounce platform, in partnership with legal entities. To educate the population, the receipts also present real stories of victims, verified and collected by social listening.

Any company can download it at notasdorespeito.com.br

It’s possible to use the full plug-in or, if the brand uses other receipt programs, download adaptations that work as plug-ins, with free monitoring, through a project IT.

A campaign launched the idea using real receipts donated by victims.

We turned the receipts into OOH in front of the stores where these cases happened, encouraging companies to download the plug-in or join the program Racismo Zero.

A film amplified the conversation, tagging the CEOs of the largest companies in Brazil, inviting them to join Racismo Zero.

Receipts to Keep Fighting managed to get support from big personalities within the black community and white allies. Through their social media, thousands posted photos holding receipts to further pressure companies to download the plug-in and take part on Racismo Zero.

The conversation reached 16.9M people pressuring these companies to join.

As a practical effect, some of the largest companies in the country joined the program, such as P&G, Cielo (the largest payment method company), AB-INBEV and even Carrefour, a supermarket chain where many of the cases of racism happened. Only this first wave of companies represents 320,000 employees and a chain of suppliers, distributors and business partners of approximately 8M people, who will now have anti-racist education and commitment. This generates a direct impact that changes the reality of 31.8M black people who visit these stores.

The legacy of 300 years of slavery in Brazil created structural racism. That explains the 40% lower average income among black people, why they account for 78% of deaths by firearms, and why we have four black people among the CEOs of the 500 largest companies.

Structural racism is also in retail. 70% of black consumers have already suffered aggression in a country where they represent 55% of the population.

One of the most common cases is when they are forced to show receipts of what they bought to prove that they didn’t steal it.

Because they are not white, they are constantly accused of theft by the stores’ employees, which turns the receipt into proof of their innocence.

By creating a plug-in that transforms receipts into a platform for action against racism, we pressure companies to admit that structural racism exists, showing that they are committed to fighting it.