In a two-line long concise statement in English, L’Oréal announced on Saturday June 27 that it would withdraw “the words white / whitening, clear of all its products intended to standardize the skin” If it could surprise the French, this decision of the French cosmetic giant is far from isolated. It is in fact in the wake of the positions adopted by other market leaders since the death of George Floyd on May 25, and the launching of an anti-racist movement of international scope.
Like the police and administrations, companies have not escaped criticism denouncing the low presence of people from diverse backgrounds among their executives, the persistence of imagery deemed racist in their advertising, or the promotion of products fostering racial prejudice. Recurrent in the cosmetics industry, this last complaint prompted several players in the sector to delete or rename their skin lightening products.
It was the American giant Johnson and Johnson, owner of others brands Neutrogena, RoC and Le Petit Marseillais, which opened the ball on June 19, by abandoning the production of lightening substances marketed in Asia and the Middle East. “Debates over the past few weeks have highlighted the fact that the names or descriptions of certain products in our Neutrogena and Clean & Clear ranges represent whiteness and skin clarity as more beautiful than other colors.“, Justified the company in a press release.
A week later, the Indian subsidiary of the Dutch-British multinational Unilever announced that it would rename a skin lightening cream marketed under the name of “Fair & Lovely”. The company has promised to drop the word “FairWhich means both “clear” and “fair” in English. “We are fully committed to offering a range of skin products that are inclusive and take care of all skin tones, to celebrate beauty in all its diversity“Said Sunny Jain, president of the beauty industry at Unilever.
For three weeks, two online petitions have been circulating asking for the ban on this product. One of them said than “Fair & Lovely tells us that something is wrong with our skin color, that we have to be clearer to feel beautiful, to feel worthy of respect. This harms the self-esteem of the people concerned from a very young age, distorts their sense of identity and the way they perceive others.These petitions have collected a few thousand signatures.
Growing market
The German group Beiersdorf, which markets Nivea and Labello products, could be the next to act in this direction. “We are currently reviewing all of our product descriptions and reassessing any that may be misinterpreted“Nivea spokesman BBC told Thursday 26 June. In the firing line, the Natural Fairness product, marketed in Africa and the Middle East, presented as a means of “prevent darkening of the skin” Asked about it by the British media, Nivea defended himself by saying that this product provides sun protection “For all skin types».
Activists, however, say that renaming these products is not enough, and call for an outright removal, like the decision of Johnson and Johnson. “Renaming these products is not enough to repair the enormous mental and emotional impact of colorism [discrimination distincte du racisme, valorisant les peaux claires au sein d’une communauté]”, Denounces the British author Poorna Bell to the BBC, who fears that the same products will be marketed under other names.
In a report on the lightening products sector last February, the analysis company Trusted Business Insights noted that “the media have highlighted the importance of these lightening products in the fight against colorism and the depiction of dark-skinned people as inferior” – reason why “in North America, brands like L’Oréal, Neutrogena, Dove and Ponds avoid the vocabulary of lightening, and are more likely to focus on the treatment of spots and skin luminosity».
Estimated at $ 8.3 billion in 2018, the lightening products market will remain on the upside in the coming years due to “the preference for fair skin, seen as indicators of confidence and greater beauty, especially in womenContinues this report.
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