It was just a few days ago that the consumer product giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL), a subsidiary of The Dutch-British conglomerate Unilever, decided to change its flagship skin lightening cream Fair & Lovely’s name, made headlines throughout the country. Now, the much-criticized sector’s leader has a new name after being the household name, not just for women, but also, men throughout the country.
And likewise, it is not just Fair & Lovely, that has been rechristened to Glow & Lovely, but, the wave of change, at least, with regards to its name has hit Fair and Handsome, skincare, skin lightening product catering to the growing market of men interested in the product.
These products have been household names, not just because, its Unilever and it’s marketed well, but also because masses have dovetailed to the shtick of these companies into buying them in copious amounts, as there are individuals, who have used this product for decades together, as though a ritual or a norm.
Although campaigns against the company and the brand, in particular, have been on the rise in the, it was not until this year, that the company mulled over a change in its rather problematic name. Previously, due to growing dissonance against the cream, the company started defending and rebranding Fair & Lovely on the lines of it being a skin lightening agent, rather than blatantly claiming it to be a cure for one’s natural skin colour.
This, by many, is seen as a ripple effect of the Black Lives Matter Movement, that reinforced post the murder of George Floyd. As Johnson and Johnson, said it would also be relinquishing its business in this particular sector, which is particularly known for its Clean & Clear line of projects
