The Real Reason Skittles Is Losing Its Rainbow Colors

Is gray, like, the official shade of spring 2020? In most seasons, spring is celebrated with bright colors or at least pretty pastels, but yeah, we get it, things are feeling a little different this year. We've just recently had a hotly-awaited new eyeshadow palette drop that was — you guessed it — mostly grays: the downright funereal Cremated collection by Jeffree Star. Well, you'll never guess who else is jumping on the "shades of gray" bandwagon (and that is the last reference we're going to make to a certain smutty franchise that everyone loved to hate, promise!). Well, okay, of course you will guess, since you read the title, and yes, you read it correctly — Skittles will be abandoning their signature rainbow shades for just one month, that month being June.

Why June? Is there some particular significance to this? Why yes, there is. As everyone knows, June is Pride Month, a time when many otherwise monochromatic brands will fly a rainbow flag to show their support. Wait, does this mean that Skittles does not support LGBTQ people??? Far from it! Relax, it's still okay to taste the rainbow (even when it's hidden behind clouds of gray) — Skittles is actually showing their support for the entire LGBTQ community, they're just doing it in an unexpected way.

According to the redesigned gray Skittles package, "Only one Rainbow matters during Pride." Their neutral look is a clever way to avert what AdWeek refers to as rainbow fatigue, with everybody suddenly flying the flag for one month out of the year. Skittles won't be showing support merely by adopting a short-term packaging change, however — as they tweeted out in an announcement of the forthcoming colorless candies, they'll be donating $1 to GLAAD for every Skittles Pride pack sold. Evidently the "Give the Rainbow" campaign is one Skittles has launched in previous years in Europe and Canada, but this is the first time they'll roll it out in the U.S. It's actually a good thing that they've decided to introduce it this year, too, since the cancellation of many Pride Month events due to lingering concerns over COVID-19 are likely to mean a net loss in revenue for LGBTQ nonprofits as well as a sense of disappointment for everyone.

So how do people feel about the new gray Skittles? Positively thrilled, judging by the following comments on their Twitter announcement: "I love ! Thank you ! You are the best," "Where can we purchase them?!? Love this!," "Where can I buy a case?," and even "I stopped buying Skittles because you changed the green one, but I will make an exception for this." Who knew gray could seem so bright and cheery? Skittles, your rainbow-less rainbow is even sweeter than before.