Unilever will no longer promote a ‘Fair & Lovely’ look
Backlash is mounting after Floyd’s death and companies have begun to respond
‘ Fair & Lovely’ skincare creams have been a mainstay of beauty aisles in stores across India for years. Not anymore.
On Thursday, the company Unilever said it would stop promoting skin “whitening” or “lightening,” and rebrand the skincare line in response to critics who say the products promote harmful stereotypes around beauty and skin tone.
But it won’t go as far as some have demanded: ridding stores of the creams and their connotations, no matter what they are called.
Along with similar brands, Unilever’s line has faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks, amid a global reckoning with racial injustice, for promoting an image that white or lighter skin is more desirable than darker shades.
‘Hugely disappointing’
“We recognise that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this,” Sunny Jain, the president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division, said.
Some activists say changing the name and branding is only a start. Poorna Bell, a writer who has been outspoken on the issue, told the BBC she found Unilever’s announcement “hugely disappointing” and called for the line to be discontinued all together. “Renaming the products doesn’t mean anything — that’s still just colourism by another word.”
Last year, the company removed “shade guides” and before-and-after images from product labels after campaigns by consumers. The matter saw a resurgence earlier this month, when Unilever issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We have a responsibility for racial justice,” the company said on Instagram.