Unilever to Remove Word ‘Normal’ From Beauty Products Across World to Promote Inclusivity

Taking a step towards ‘Positive Beauty’ campaign, Unilever announced that it will stop digital alterations of body shape, size and skin colour of models in its advertising to be more inclusive of people from diverse groups.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Sharmita Kar

Updated: March 9, 2021, 7:00 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/world/unilever-to-remove-word-normal-from-beauty-products-across-world-to-promote-inclusivity-4479558/ Copy

Unilever beauty products

New Delhi: In a move to beat unrealistic beauty standards, Unilever – the maker of Vaseline, Lifebuoy, Axe, Sunsilk and Dove, among others – has  decided to remove the word “normal” from all its beauty and personal care products. Taking a step towards ‘Positive Beauty’ campaign, the mega brand announced that it will stop digital alterations of body shape, size and skin colour of models in its advertising to be more inclusive of people from diverse groups.

In a recent tweet, Unilever explained what it meant by Positive Beauty. “It’s brands that not only do less harm, but also do more good for people and the planet. That’s why we’re saying #YesToPositiveBeauty, and our beauty brands are removing the word normal from ads and packs all over the world,” the company tweeted.

What is Positive Beauty?

It’s brands that not only do less harm, but also do more good for people and the planet.

That’s why we’re saying #YesToPositiveBeauty, and our beauty brands are removing the word normal from ads and packs all over the world.https://t.co/mmHwMSFx8q pic.twitter.com/64g1mdufmQ

— Unilever #StaySafe (@Unilever) March 9, 2021

Just a few months ago, the London-based beauty and personal care brand division in India, that goes under the name of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), was pushed to retract the word ‘fair’ from its popular face brightening cream ‘Fair & Lovely’.

More recently, Unilever was also forced to pull all of its TRESemmé hair products out from retail stores in South Africa after backlash over an ad.

Unilever said that it is setting out certain progressive changes to the brand to “champion a new era of beauty which is equitable and inclusive, as well as sustainable for the planet”.

“Over eight in ten people (83%) think that using the word ‘normal’ on beauty product packaging and in advertising has a negative impact on people. This includes making people who don’t feel as though they have ‘normal hair’ or ‘normal skin’ feel excluded or feel bad about themselves,” Unilever said.

More than a hundred Unilever brands will remove the word “normal” to describe skin type or hair texture, and replace it with terms such as “grey hair” for shampoos or “moisture replenish” for skin creams, the company said.

The move will be fully implemented by March next year.