Brands have jumped on taking actions after the #BlackLivesMatter movement impacted so many lives and became a topic of talk all across the world. The debate about racism has lead brands to make some changes immediately and even India is experiencing this change.
There is no doubt that stereotypes need to be broken, especially when it comes to beauty products that have been selling items by openly promoting fair skin. Recently, Hindustan Unilever has announced that it would rebrand its skin-lightening cream “Fair and Lovely”
“We’re committed to a skin care portfolio that’s inclusive of all skin tones, celebrating the diversity of beauty. That’s why we’re removing the words ‘fairness’, ‘whitening’ & ‘lightening’ from products, and changing the Fair & Lovely brand name.” the company posted on its social media accounts.
We’re committed to a skin care portfolio that's inclusive of all skin tones, celebrating the diversity of beauty. That’s why we’re removing the words ‘fairness’, ‘whitening’ & ‘lightening’ from products, and changing the Fair & Lovely brand name.https://t.co/W3tHn6dHqE
— Unilever (@Unilever) June 25, 2020
This has triggered different reactions among netizens online:
1.
https://twitter.com/InvestRepeat/status/1276072512833503232
2.
It was long overdue @HUL_News. Congratulations on making the right decision.
HUL Rebrands its flagship brand Fair & Lovely. Towards a more inclusive vision of beauty, the co will stop using the word ‘Fair’ in the brand name ‘Fair & Lovely’.
— Harshada Sawant हर्षदा सावंत 🇮🇳 (@AEHarshada) June 25, 2020
3.
https://twitter.com/BookLuster/status/1276069784090636295
4.
Welcome step of HUL by changing the name of Fair & Lovely. Although racism in India could be a problem of next 50 years in India. We have a long path to go crossing discrimination based on religion, caste and Income.
— Da lie Lama 🙏 (@farzimodiji) June 25, 2020
5.
Fair & Lovely no more !!!! And thank God for it. @Unilever set to rebrand (change the name ) of it's bestseller fairness cream.
Dear #Emami time to get rid of
Fair & Handsome as well. https://t.co/5oMKQi6CC4— Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) June 25, 2020
Even some Bollywood celebs came in support of this decision:
Abhay Deol
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB4mOUdpRLU/
Bipasha Basu
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB4iGuCjjlE/
Richa Chadha
https://twitter.com/RichaChadha/status/1276421211166130181
Also recently matrimonial site Shaadi.com also removed skin color filter, according to reports.
