Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of the global customer merchandise huge, declared Thursday that it would “cease making use of the phrase ‘Fair’ in the brand name title” of its array of skin lotions.
The conclusion was taken to shift towards “a extra inclusive vision of attractiveness,” the company reported in a assertion.
In India, the choice for lighter skin has been a longstanding, contentious situation. Activists who oppose the use of cosmetics for pores and skin-lightening say some of the best-recognised Bollywood stars have perpetuated the craze by lending their names and faces to advertising and marketing campaigns marketing “fairness” creams.
Hindustan Unilever acknowledged in its assertion Thursday that it experienced earlier performed up “the positive aspects of fairness, whitening and skin lightening” while marketing and advertising its goods.
It mentioned that it sought to go away from that starting final 12 months, by eliminating all point out of “terms this kind of as ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening'” on the packaging of the “Honest & Lovely” pores and skin creams.
The company now chooses to emphasize “glow, even tone, skin clarity and radiance” as a substitute, it claimed.
“The brand has never ever been and is not a bleaching product or service,” it extra.
Hindustan Unilever charges alone as one particular of India’s most important client goods providers, and claims its products access nine out of 10 households in the place.
The proposed new model name is matter to regulatory approval, and will most likely just take influence sometime in the future several months, the corporation claimed Thursday.
— CNN’s Swati Gupta and Monica Sarkar contributed to this report.