“We recognise that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this. As we’re evolving the way that we communicate the skin benefits of our products that deliver radiant and even tone skin, it’s also important to change the language we use," said Sunny Jain, President Beauty & Personal Care, HUL.

This comes after American multinational Johnson and Johnson announced that it will be stopping the sale of two fairness products that are sold in India.

The company said the brand is committed to celebrating all skin tones. Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director, HUL said, “We are making our skin care 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. These changes were very well received by our consumers. We now announce that we will remove the word ‘Fair’ from our brand name Fair & Lovely. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals, and the pack with the revised name will be available in the market in the next few months.”Fair and Lovely is HUL’s flagship skincare product and reportedly generates $560 million in annual sales. According to TOI reports, it holds 50-70% share of the skin whitening market in India. Over the last decade, Fair & Lovely’s advertising has evolved to communicate a message of women’s empowerment.