Unilever to remove the word “normal” from cosmetic packaging

Unilever plans to stop using the word “plain” on its beauty product packaging in an effort to make its branding more inclusive.

The owner of London-based brands including Dove, Ax and Vaseline announced the decision Tuesday after a survey that showed describing hair or skin as “natural” makes consumers feel left out.

Unilever also said it will digitally stop changing the skin color, body shape, and size of models appearing in its ads while increasing the number of ads featuring people from “unrepresented” groups.

“We are committed to addressing harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader and more comprehensive definition of beauty,” said Sunny Jin, president of Unilever Beauty and Personal Care, in a statement. “We know that removing“ normal ”from our products and packages will not solve the problem on its own, but it is an important step forward.

Unilever said it conducted a survey of 10,000 people in nine countries, in which seven out of 10 respondents said that using the word “normal” in product packaging and in advertisements “had a negative effect,” a rate that rose to eight in 10 out of 18 to 18 – 35 years old.

Unilever made the change after overcoming many of the controversy over how its trademark ads portray people of color.

Violent protests Broke out in southern Africa Last September, after hair care brand TRESemmé advertised images of black women’s hair as “curly and dull,” while describing white women’s hair as “smooth and flat” and “natural”.

This came after Indian company Unilever said it would change the name of its brightening cream from “Fair & Lovely” to “Glow & Lovely” amid concerns that the old brand is perpetuating stereotypes against darker skin tones.

Pigeon too She drew fire in 2017 Above an ad that appears to show a black woman pulling a T-shirt over her head, revealing a white woman underneath.

Unilever is one of the largest advertisers in the world, and its beauty products are a mainstay of its business. The beauty and personal care sector accounted for about $ 25 billion of the nearly $ 60 billion in Unilever sales last year.

Unilever shares rose 1.1 percent in pre-market trading on Tuesday to $ 54.55 at 8:20 am.

With mail wires