In 2021, Kendall Jenner announced her 818 tequila brand and began marketing it in the middle of that year. From the beginning, this caused controversy, as there were many people who affirmed that Kendall was appropriating Mexican culture, especially because he used stereotypes of the culture, such as the traditional attire of the jimadores, for the marketing of his tequila.
Despite the controversy, the brand continues to grow and in recent days, the model announced that a percentage of the product’s profits will be used for community projects that benefit rural areas of Jalisco, the state where it produces its tequila.
Kendall teamed up with the organization Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education and Development (SACRED) to launch a project whose main objective is to promote literacy in the region. SACRED is a non-profit organization that seeks to “help improve life in rural Mexican communities where inherited agave liqueurs are made.” Its main function is to raise funds to finance programs that benefit these areas, such as those that promote clean water or the construction of libraries.
This is precisely where the model comes in, since the first project it will help finance is a public library that in turn can be used as a classroom for a community high school in the area. Like the entire region, the school focuses on regenerative agriculture.
A sustainable process
The library will be built with adobe bricks, made with the waste from the distillery where 818 tequila is made. This fits perfectly into the company’s sustainability plan, which uses solar energy and takes advantage of all the waste it generates.
Leaving aside the controversy surrounding the brand, no one can deny that these types of projects will continue to promote the development of the community. We hope it will be the first of many projects funded by 818.