Rebranded As 'Glow & Lovely' 'Fair & Lovely' To Hit The Shelves Soon

Hindustan Unilever Limited has announced that its popular cream 'Fair & Lovely' will now be packaged with the name 'Glow & Lovely.' The cream for men 'Fair & Handsome' has also been renamed as 'Glow & Handsome.' The move came after consistent criticism faced by the company for peddling stereotypical and racist notions of beauty. Fair & Lovely was introduced in the market back in 1975.

"Over the next few months, Glow & Lovely will be on the shelves, and future innovations will deliver on this new proposition," HUL's press release read.

Company Also Aiming At Changing Rest Of The Skin Care Portfolio

Apart from the Glow & Lovely cream, the company is also planning to redesign its skincare portfolio. “We are making our skincare portfolio more inclusive and want to lead the celebration of a more diverse portrayal of beauty. In 2019, we removed the cameo with two faces as well as the shade guides from the packaging of Fair & Lovely and the brand communication progressed from fairness to glow which is a more holistic and inclusive measure of healthy skin,” the company said in another press release.

Also Read: Bleached girls: India and its love for light skin

Fairness Cream Market In India

According to a 2019 study by the World Health Organization, the fairness cream market in India makes up for around 50 percent of the skincare market and is estimated to be worth US$ 450–535 million. In fact, the skin lightening industry is the fastest-growing beauty industry worldwide and is estimated to reach  US$ 31.2 billion by 2024.  In another research published in US National Institute Of Health journal, in India, men were significantly more likely than women to endorse beliefs about fairness being more attractive and were more likely to perceive family and peers as viewing fairness as beneficial for cultural capital.

Also Read: No I was not comfortable being dark. Fairness creams spoke to me.

Other Companies Working Towards Normalizing Skin Tone

A few days ago, American Multinational Johnson & Johnson decided to stop selling skin whitening lotions, including dark spot reducers which were also used to lighten skin tone.

“Conversations over the past few weeks highlighted that some product names or claims on our Neutrogena and Clean & Clear dark-spot reducer products represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone,” the company said in a statement. “This was never our intention — healthy skin is beautiful skin,” NY Times reported