The European Race and Imagery Foundation’s (ERIF) annual Brand & Product report charts the evolution and relevance of the (Zwarte) Piet character, alongside the development of discussions on race, racism and inclusion, specific to the Netherlands. The project began in 2015, when ERIF launched the study in order to advise concerned parents which products they … More ERIF Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study 2021: widespread protest and superficial transformation

The 2020 ERIF Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study is out NOW! NEDERLANDS | FRANÇAIS | DEUTSCH *** We publish this report during a period of intense and global socio-political unrest regarding the continuous state sanctioned and worldwide violence towards people of African descent. Major protests erupted across the US in response to numerous recent killings … More Identity crisis as part of a new beginning?

Nederlands | Français | Deutsch The European Race and Imagery Foundation’s (ERIF) annual Brand & Product report charts the evolution and relevance of the (Zwarte) Piet character, alongside the development of discussions on race, racism and inclusion, specific to the Netherlands. Our fourth report, providing coverage of the 2018-2019 discussion, can be downloaded via our … More Sinterklaas Brand & Product report 2019: Smudged Cheeks and Middle Fingers

  Nederlands | Français | Deutsch The European Race and Imagery Foundation’s (ERIF) annual Sinterklaas Brand & Product study is a sociological market research report, which seeks to analyse longitudinal data concerning the ongoing and evolving usage of the Zwarte Piet character by major supermarket chains and brands across the Netherlands. This year titled: Seeing through … More Sinterklaas Brand & Product study 2018: Seeing Through the Soot

We are happy to announce the publication of our Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study 2017! The second edition of this report continues to trace the evolutions of the debates around the character of Zwarte Piet as part of the Dutch festival Sinterklaas, by monitoring the protests taking place against the character, as well as its … More Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study 2017

In October 2015, the ERIF team began fieldwork for a research project on the Sinterklaas festival in the Netherlands. We wanted to assess how prevalent the character of Zwarte Piet is in Dutch advertising leading up to the popular winter festival and by doing so, set benchmark for future comparison as the celebration undergoes continued … More ERIF Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study: Locating Zwarte Piet