The move came a day after Unilever made a similar announcement in the wake of growing criticism on social media
Photo used for representational purpose
French cosmetics major L'Oreal Group on Friday announced that it will drop the words such as white, fair, and light from all its skincare products. The move came a day after Unilever made a similar announcement in the wake of growing criticism on social media.
Amid rising voices against colourism and racial stereotyping, the cosmetic brands have been under the scanner for their products that promote skin fairness. The backlash intensified in the wake of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement in the West.
"The L'Oreal Group acknowledges the legitimate concerns about the terms used to describe skin even-ing products, and has therefore decided to remove the words white/whitening, fair/fairness, light/lightening from all its skin even-ing products," the company said in a statement.
L'Oreal is a big player in the personal care category and owns global brands like Garnier, L'Oreal Paris, Maybelline New York, and NYX Professional Make Up.
As the announcement was made, many people took to Twitter to express their opinion. Some congratulated the company for removing the words, while many said that instead of removing the names, the products should be discontinued.
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L'OREAL SAYS IT WILL REMOVE THE WORDS WHITE/WHITENING, FAIR/FAIRNESS, LIGHT/LIGHTENING FROM ALL ITS SKIN EVENING PRODUCTS
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— nikita bhati (@nikitaabhati) June 27, 2020
Uniliver to rebrand ‘Fair and Lovely’ by dropping “Fair”.
— Rajdeep Deb (@idrrajdeep) June 27, 2020
L’Oreal to drop “white”, “light” from their range of products.
But the real change will happen when we stop adding such words in matrimonial ads and acknowledge beauty irrespective of the skin colour in our daily lives.
But the product is still designed to do the same thing right? Here's a better idea, just stop making fairness creams. https://t.co/TEepBt059O
— Supriya Kelkar (@supriyakelkar_) June 25, 2020
"Fair and Lovely" will become "Lovely". But it is still a skin cream to become fair (lovely). A superficial change to appease, but business as usual? @Unilever #FairandLovely #FairAndHandsome #Loreal #Emami
— Senthamizh Selven (@Senthamizh_dev) June 27, 2020
On Thursday, Unilever had said it is removing the word 'Fair' from its popular skincare brand 'Fair & Lovely' as ‘the brand is committed to celebrating all skin tones’.
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 #StaySafe (@Unilever) June 25, 2020
Several companies have been forced to reassess their products and branding following the 'Black Lives Matter' protests. Earlier this week, Johnson and Johnson announced that it will exit the fairness cream category in India and the Middle East. Recently, the online marriage website ‘Shaadi.com’ removed the skin tone filter after facing criticism from users.
Kolkata-based FMCG firm Emami, which owns fairness cream brand Fair & Handsome, had said it is evaluating the current situation. "We, as responsible corporate citizens value consumer sentiments and take cognizance of the holistic approach that is required to be taken to address their needs. We are studying all implications currently and evaluating internally to decide our next course of action," an Emami spokesperson had said.
Many Bollywood celebrities, including Priyanka Chopra, have also been under fire for previously endorsing the fairness creams. In an interview in 2015, Priyanka was asked why she endorsed fairness products in the past and she replied that she did it for a year and felt really bad about it, that’s why she stopped doing it.
(With inputs from PTI)
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