After years of backlash, Unilever is dropping the word 'fair' from the 'Fair & Lovely' skin lightening cream in South Asia. Some say that that move does not go far enough.
Unilever's 'Fair & Lovely' skin lightener to be renamed after global backlash
After years of backlash, Unilever is dropping the word 'fair' from the 'Fair & Lovely' skin lightening cream in South Asia. Some say that that move does not go far enough.
Several multinational companies have come under fire for their skin lightening products as the Black Lives Matter movement goes global following the killing of a Black man, George Floyd, in the United States.
"They have to answer for all of this," said Kavita Krishnan, an activist with the All India Progressive Women's Association, referring to the "toxic culture" that the company had profited over for years by equating lighter skin tones with beauty, confidence, and success.
"They should be dropping the product," she said, narrating her own experience where shopkeepers often tried to push such products on her after seeing her dark skin.
Unilever's India unit, Hindustan Unilever, did not confirm what the new name would be. Records show that the company filed to trademark a logo under the brand name "Glow & Lovely" last week. In recent years, it has also trademarked other brand names like "Even & Lovely", "Always Lovely", "Care & Lovely" and "I Am Lovely".