Fair and Lovely is rebranding. But is that enough?

Unilever has announced they will be removing the words 'whitening', 'lightening' or 'fairness' from their products

Fair and Lovely will no longer be called Fair and Lovely.

The skin lightening line which has thrived in the Subcontinent, thanks to beauty standards perpetuated by the British and sustained by our colonial hangover, will be rebranding and moving towards more progressive language.

"We're committed to a skin portfolio that's inclusive of all skin tones, celebrating the diversity of beauty. That's why we're removing the word 'fairness', 'whitening' and 'lightening' from our products, and changing the Fair and Lovely brand name," said Unilever.

The development came after a petition on Change.org gained traction on social media calling upon the company to stop producing and marketing Fair and Lovely, reassign its employees and issue a statement taking accountability for how the product has benefited from internalised racism and anti-blackness sentiments amongst its customers.

Unilever further insisted that their products will be using alternative ingredients that are directed at making the skin glow and look healthy.

"The product does not contain any skin lightening ingredients like hydroquinone or bleach. Our product consists of a blend of Vitamin B3 and other actives. We believe in serving consumer needs responsibly and...