Popular Indian skin-care brand Fair & Lovely is changing its name to Glow & Lovely. But is it enough? Unilever announced that it has officially changed the name because it was dedicating itself to a “more inclusive vision of beauty.” Fair & Lovely is known for its skin-whitening cream, something sold by hundreds of brands across Asia. “We are fully committed to having a global portfolio of skin care brands that is inclusive and cares for all skin tones, celebrating greater diversity of beauty,” said Sunny Jain, President Beauty & Personal Care, in a statement.
“We recognize that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this,” she continued. “As we’re evolving the way that we communicate the skin benefits of our products that deliver radiant and even tone skin, it’s also important to change the language we use.”
Brands are having a bit of reckoning right now and forced to confront their racially charged names. We’ve seen Aunt Jemima, Cream of Wheat and Uncle Ben’s promise to change their names and images. We’re seeing massive calls for sports teams including the Washington Redskins to evaluate their name and the racial stereotypes it perpetuates. For Fair & Lovely to change its name is a start, but is not enough for many consumers.
Almost 15,000 people have signed a petition to ask Unilever to stop making the skin-lightening products entirely. “This product has built upon, perpetuated and benefited from internalized racism and promotes anti-blackness sentiments amongst all its consumers,” reads the petition. Some on social media have said that changing the name doesn’t change the fact that the brand “promotes colorism.”
Last September, Johnson & Johnson, the company behind Neutrogena, Clean & Clear and other popular brands, said it would stop selling skin-whitening brands such as the Clean & Clear Fairness line and Neutrogena Fine Fairness line in Asia and the Middle East.