Unilever To Rebrand 'Fair And Lovely' Skin Lightening Products

Unilever will rebrand its “fair and lovely” skin lightening products amid growing controversy over the use of products that promote colorism or discrimination based on skin color. The company’s “fair and lovely” brand is most popular in South Asia but has long been criticized for its promotion of negative stereotypes against dark-skinned people.

Amid Black Lives Matter protests in recent weeks, Unilever and its rivals face a growing backlash on social media for promoting societal obsession with fairer skin tones. On Wednesday, a company source in South Asia revealed Unilever’s plan to make some marketing changes to its dominant line of skin lightening creams.

In a statement, Unilever Hindustan Chairman Sanjiv Mehta revealed that the company would make strides to make its products more inclusive. “We are making our skincare portfolio more inclusive, a more diverse portrayal of beauty,” he said.

Hindustan Unilever’s announcement came days after rival company Johnson & Johnson said it would also stop selling skin whitening creams, which are also popular in Asia and the Middle East.

According to Sunny Jain, president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division, the rebranding aims to address criticisms over the company’s use of the words “fair,” “white,” and “light” in its products, suggesting a singular ideal of beauty. For years, the company has also come under fire for showing advertisements that feature two faces showing skin tone transformation from dark to fair.

While Unilever is already discussing potential changes, no decisions have been taken yet. “The branding exercise will require a massive change and we’re working on this,” said a source. “Words like ‘skin detox,’ ‘skin rejuvenation,’ and ‘skin vitality’ are being considered instead of ‘skin lightening.’”

The extent of changes Unilever is considering also remains unknown, considering the brand recognition of “fair and lovely.” A source, however, revealed that Unilever is considering alternatives like “dare and lovely,” “care and lovely,” or “fresh and lovely.”

Unilever revealed in a filing to the exchanges on Thursday that the brand name change is still subject to regulatory approval and is likely to take effect in the next few months.