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

Decades of critique for promoting fairness as a symbol of beauty fell on deaf years; but finally in keeping with the mood of the world Hindustan Unilevers (HUL) drops the word 'Fair' from it's flagship beauty brand 'Fair and 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.

Famous actress Richa Chadha known for her off beat roles wrote on Instagram - “NOT FAIR BUT LOVELY”, I had gotten this printed on a T shirt back in 2015. Yesterday, the brand @fairandlovely_id and I were finally in agreement! 🏽️Yesterday, they dropped the word FAIR from their product name... Before you attack the brand for only paying ‘lip service’, please remember, it takes many generations for ideas to change. There is demand and hence there is supply...We have been told since we were children, that fairness is the only definition of beauty! It is also another unfortunate byproduct of colonialism and casteism! But it’s 2020, and a lot of BS is getting dismantled !
It took me many years of unlearning to gain confidence and start LOVING my complexion! Der aye durust aye, I say.
I welcome this decision by the brand... and it’s not easy... brands have a thousand meetings before they change even the FONT in their logo... I hope slowly and steadily mindsets change... we must continuously and without any influence of the West, define our own idea of beauty. Beauty must be inclusive!”

Actor 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".

Suhana Khan, who herself has faced prejudice based on her skin colour, also hailed the move. She shared a post on her Instagram that reiterated the brand's announcement. It read: "Hindustan Unilever announced that it would rebrand its skin -lightening cream eFair and Lovely' and drop the word eFair' from the product'.

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.

With IANS inputs