One of the world’s topmost consumer brands, Hindustan Unilever announced it just last Thursday that in the process of re-branding, it will drop “Fair” from its one of the most popular fairness creams “Fair & Lovely”. It was for many years that Hindustan Unilever was being pressurized for being a part of such skin lightening creams. The killing of George Floyd (the 46-year-old black man) by the U.S Police during an arrest for using a fake bill has created a global momentum against racism.
On this initiative of re-branding the company authorities said;
“Taking forward the brand’s journey towards a more inclusive vision of beauty, the company will stop using the word ‘Fair’ in the brand name ‘Fair & Lovely’.”
The authorities also added that the new name has already been decided and it is just awaiting the regulatory approval.
They also said;
“We expect to change the name in the next few months.”
What caused sudden change in the name of “Fair & Lovely”?
It can be easily known that the idea of the sudden change in the name has come due to the protests which are happening in the U.S and different parts of the world (Black lives matter) because it is during this protest that so many petitions have been filed against the products which promise fairness and promotes racial discrimination.
Among thousands of petitions being filed by the people, one petition was also filed to the Hindustan Unilever which stated that HUL should take accountability for its “Fair & Lovely” product as it promotes racism and anti-blackness.
The petition which was filed by the people and had 13,000 signatures stated;
“Colorism, discrimination based on the color of your skin, is a direct by-product of racism affecting millions of people today, that fairness creams such as Fair & Lovely continue to advance.”
Despite so many petitions being filed against the products which promote fairness, it is still not clear that what is the actual reasons behind this sudden change of brand name. The reason why the rumors of changing the brand name are spreading is due to the social pressure because it was very recently after the protest that Johnson & Johnson has finally given a statement stating that it has removed the “Clean & Clear Fairness” line from its products. Apart from the beauty products, many other big brands have also taken a step forward to eliminate racism based on skin-color. The very popular matrimonial website Shaadi.com has also removed its skin-color based filter for its users.
Are we still living in a world where creams like “Fair & Lovely” are popular?
Why is it that it always takes someone’s death for people to realize the global issues which demand immediate attention from them? Why are people now waking up to fight colorism after a 46-year-old Black man had to be killed in an arrest by the U.S Police Officer? Don’t you think that now we have reached a peak from where we can only start protesting against these fairness products which are always making people feel insecure about their skin color and personality?
Choose the world where you want to live
Brands like “Fair & Lovely” have dominated the global markets for so many decades. However, it is we who have to take a step against them so that the future and present generation can breathe freely in a racism-free environment. How many more such deaths would be required by the people to finally realize that they are living in a stereotypical society.