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There
were muted cheers among feminists and women’s rights campaigners in South Asia
at the news at the end of June that the Indian arm of global consumer goods
giant Unilever would rebrand its popular skin-whitening cream for females, Fair
& Lovely, to Glow & Lovely. It also announced dropping the words “fair,
light and white” from its line of beauty products.
Other global conglomerates like L’Oreal made similar
announcements to drop words like “fairness” and “whitening” from its products,
while Johnson & Johnson said it might step away from the beauty products
business.
For decades, these companies have made millions from
skin-lightening products and have been accused of promoting colorism or
light-skin supremacy in their prime markets in Asia, Africa and the West. There
was little objection because whitening is big business. The global
skin-lightening industry made over US$8.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to
peak at $31.2 billion by 2024, according to Global Industry Analysts, a market
intelligence firm.
Since its inception in 1971, Fair & Lovely became Unilever’s most iconic beauty product found in markets and supermarkets of Asia, Africa and the West, selling to some 300 million teenagers and women annually. This is despite the fact the product has faced extensive criticism for promoting colorism and making darker-skinned girls feel insecure and worthless. It has been quite evident as the brand has always used lighter-skinned actresses and models from countries like India, Bangladesh and elsewhere to advertise the cream and promote the unethical and unfair idea that light skin means a good marriage and a good job.
