HUL’s decision to axe ‘fair’ from ‘Fair and Lovely’ lauded

In the wake of all the anti-racist movements taking place across the globe, especially after US-based George Floyds tragic death, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) recently announced the rebranding of its flagship brand Fair & Lovely.

The decision has found support across segments and groups in the country. While netizens welcomed the move by the company to rebrand the cream, celebrities too took to social media to laud the move.
Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut took to Twitter to express her support for the decision. On her behalf, her team wrote, “It has been a long and sometimes a very lonely battle but results only happen when the whole nation participates in the movement”.
Shah Rukh Khans daughter Suhana hailed this decision. Shah Rukh Khan’s Daughter Suhana Supports HUL’s Decision To Axe ‘Fair’ From Fair & Lovely

The star kid took to her Instagram story and wrote, “Hindustan Unilever announced that it would rebrand its skin-lightening cream ‘Fair and Lovely’ and drop the word ‘Fair’ from the product’. It has also committed that it will remove all suggestions that success is linked to skin tone or colour in its communication.” She further added: “It has also committed that it will remove all suggestions that success is linked to skin tone or colour in its communication.”

In a statement, HUL said over the last decade, Fair & Lovely’s advertising has evolved to communicate a message of women’s empowerment. The brand’s vision is to adopt a holistic approach to beauty that cares for people, that must be inclusive and diverse – for everyone, everywhere.

In early 2019, the brand’s communication moved away from the benefits of fairness, whitening and skin lightening, towards glow, even tone, skin clarity and radiance, which are holistic measures of healthy skin.

HUL also removed from Fair & Lovely’s packaging, words such as ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ that could indicate a fairness-led transformation. The cameo with two faces showing shade transformation, as well as the shade guides were removed from the packs. The Company will continue to evolve its advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India.

The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and HUL expects to change the name in the next few months.