Fair & Lovely's new name: Here’s what Hindustan Unilever said after removing ‘fair’

Hindustan Unilever, on June 25, announced its decision to drop the word ‘fair’ from its product ‘Fair & Lovely’ amid the ongoing debate around racial discrimination and prejudice. As Black Lives Matter protests continue in many parts of the world, several brands have come under scrutiny for endorsing fairness products. As the company has made it clear that it would no longer use the word ‘fair’, the question remains what would be Fair & Lovely’s new name?

Hindustan Unilever, in a statement, said the decision has been taken in order to be more inclusive and would remove the words ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ from its products’ packs and communication. Uniliver further mentioned that it aims to create a more inclusive version of the product and will come up with a new name in the coming months. 

Read: Johnson & Johnson Stops Sale Of 'Clean & Clear' Fairness Products In India Amid Criticism

Fair & Lovely's new name: HUL announces rebranding

HUL started the statement by revealing that it has decided to rebrand its popular product in order to “take forward the brand’s journey to more inclusive vision of beauty.” As for the new name, the company revealed that it still awaits “regulatory approvals” and can be expected in the “next few days.” HUL further assured that the "brand is committed to celebrating all skin tones."

"The brand is committed to celebrating all skin tones, the company said in the statement. "The company will continue to evolve its advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India," it said.

In an official statement, Hindustan Unilever Chairman Sanjiv Mehta said: “We are making our skin care portfolio more inclusive and want to lead the celebration of a more diverse portrayal of beauty.” Speaking about Fair & Lovely's new name he said, "the new name awaits regulatory apporvals and the pack with the revised name will be available i n markets in the next few months."

Read: Hindustan Unilever To Stop Using 'Fair' In 'Fair & Lovely' Brand; HUL Issues Statement

“We recognise 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,” Sunny Jain, Unilever’s president of its beauty and personal care division, said in a separate statement.

The announcement comes after recently, Johnson & Johnson, the US healthcare and FMCG giant, decided to discontinue its skin-whitening creams amid the ongoing protests. Johnson & Johnson said this month it would stop selling skin-whitening creams.

Read: Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay $2.1 Million After Talc Powder Caused Ovarian Cancer

Read: When Priyanka Chopra Stated The Reason Why She Stopped Endorsing Fairness Brands