To update: On July 2, Unilever announced that it had officially changed the name of the popular brand to lighten skin Fair & Lovely to Glow & Lovely. Although the original rebranding announcement was a step in the right direction, the official name change was greeted with some criticism online. Some users on social media criticized the brand for continuing to use a lighter-skinned woman as a model, while others expressed concern about the new name that does not change the fact that the product still promotes colorism.
© Getty / LumiNola
Unilever has renamed the popular, fair and charming Indian skin lightening cream to “Glow & Lovely”
The renowned products are ready to hit stores in India in the coming months.
Original publication: Unilever is officially renaming Fair & Lovely, a popular Indian skincare brand known for its skin whitening cream. The consumer goods company, which is also behind brands like Dove, Vaseline and Ax, announced Thursday that it was pursuing a “more inclusive vision of beauty.” Specifically, the brand will remove the words “fair,” “clear,” and “white” from all packaging and marketing of its products, thereby changing the name of Fair & Lovely.
Skin whitening and whitening have long been the norm in Asia, perpetuating the dangerous and disturbing idea that lighter skin is more superior. But after Black Lives Matters protests around the world, companies in various industries have been forced to recognize their role in marginalizing people of color, as well as actively work to be anti-racists. Consumers have even initiated and distributed petitions demanding the discontinuation of the brand. As a result, in addition to changing its name, Fair & Lovely and Unilever are committed to developing their advertising to make it more representative of different types of beauty around the world.
While Unilever has yet to share the new brand name, the company said in a statement that it will be released in the coming months, once legal regulations in relevant countries are met. This announcement comes after Johnson & Johnson, the company behind Neutrogena and Clean & Clear, recently stated that it would suspend production of skin-lightening products.
Gallery: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and L’Oreal are taking skin lightening products off the shelves and removing terms like ‘whitening’, and could signal the start of a massive movement in the beauty industry (Business Insider)
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