Unilever to ban ‘normal’ on its beauty packaging
UNILEVER, the London-based multinational behind Dove soap and other bath and beauty products such as TRESemmé haircare products, has launched a “positive beauty” strategy as it tackles the challenge of narrow beauty ideals and works towards helping to end discrimination and advocate for a more inclusive vision of beauty.
The move will see Unilever eliminate the word “normal” from all of its beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising.
Unilever also said it would not digitally alter a person’s body shape, size or skin colour in its brand advertising, and would increase the number of advertisements portraying people from diverse groups who were under-represented.
Unilever brands came under fire last year and were called out for racism.
In September, it came under attack for a TRESemmé haircare advert labelling black women’s hair as dry, damaged, frizzy and dull – featured on the Clicks group social media platforms – which led to protests outside Clicks stores across the country.
Earlier in the year, Unilever agreed to rename a skin-lightening cream in its Fair & Lovely range, which was criticised for promoting negative stereotypes around dark skin tones.
Unilever in a statement yesterday said it would adopt a clearer mission surrounding inclusive beauty standards across all its beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising.
Sunny Jain, beauty and personal care president, said: “With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, our brands have the power to make a real difference to people’s lives. As part of this, we are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes.
“We know that removing ‘normal’ from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward. It’s just one of a number of actions we are taking as part of our positive beauty vision.”
Unilever said the positive beauty vision would help to drive transformation in how products were designed and formulated so that they not only delivered a superior product experience but also tapped into consumer trends. The company said the decision came after global research into people’s experiences of the beauty industry revealed that many groups were left feeling inadequate or marginalised by impossible standards – which people experienced on a daily basis.
It said the 10 000-person study, which was commissioned by Unilever, was conducted across nine countries including in South Africa.
It found that despite the majority of people in the country describing the industry as “innovative” (70 percent) and “creative” (60 percent), four in 10 people also described it as “only for some” (39 percent).
“In South Africa, making products that cater to all people is recognised as one of the most pressing challenges that the beauty and personal-care industry should address,” it said.
The study found that more than two in three people in South Africa agreed that the beauty and personal-care industry made certain people feel excluded.
WELL, the unexpected happened.
Piers Morgan has quit Good Morning Britain after facing criticism for his comments about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The broadcaster has left the show he has hosted since 2015, ITV announced. They said he asked to leave the show with immediate effect. The UK broadcaster confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening that: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain.
“ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
This past week has probably been one of the broadcaster’s most stressful of his life.
Not only was he taken to task for his comments about Meghan Markle, but also about his obsession with her and his dismissal of her valid complaints of racism.
And this is something he hates – someone disagreeing with him and publicly taking him on.
And that it was three people of colour who dared to do that, has left him constipated with fury.
In her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Duchess Meghan relayed how there were concerns about her son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s skin-tone.
She also revealed that she was suicidal during her pregnancy and that she did not get the help she needed from the institution.
Morgan did not mince his words, choosing to lash into the Duchess and Prince Harry for ‘attacking the monarchy’, for saying Queen Elizabeth II is racist and that Meghan was lying about her revealing that she was suicidal.
“I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle.
“I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report,” he said in response to the interview on Good Morning Britain.
The broadcaster has faced backlash from social media and fellow broadcasters for his comments. The UK’s broadcasting complaints commission, Ofcom, is investigating Monday’s episode of the programme after receiving 41 000 complaints about the comments he made after the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In response to his comments on Monday’s episode, his colleague, Alex Beresford who is the meteorologist on GMB addressed how Morgan “spouts off on a regular basis and we all have to sit there and listen”, while responding to his comments about the Sussexes complaints.
“I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle,” Beresford said. “You’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, and I understand that you had a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off.
“I don’t think she has said anything about you after she cut you off? She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. And yet you continue to trash her.”
Morgan recently signed a contract extending his contract with the show until the end of the year.
During Tuesday’s programme, Morgan addressed his comments, saying: “When we talked about this yesterday, I said as an allencompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview, and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said.
“But let me just state on the record my position about mental illness and on suicide. These are clearly extremely serious things that should be taken extremely seriously, and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and help they need every time.”