'No' to normal, yes to body positivity: HUL

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Monday, March 9, announced that it has decided to drop the word 'normal' from all its beauty and personal care brands' advertising and packing, globally. This change will reflect in brands ranging from skincare to soap, and shampoos.

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A recent survey of 10,000 people conducted by HUL across nine countries revealed that seven in ten people said that the word 'normal' on beauty product packaging had a negative effect on people. This figure rose to eight in ten among 18 to 35-year olds.

Sunny Jain, President of Unilever Beauty and Personal Care, said in a statement:

"With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, our brands have the power to make a real difference to people’s lives. As part of this, we are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty."

“We know that removing ‘normal’ from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward. It’s just one of a number of actions we are taking as part of our Positive Beauty vision, which aims not only to do less harm, but more good for both people and the planet," he added.

HUL's beauty and personal care brands plan to contribute to Unilever's €1 billion dedicated towards Climate and Nature Fund.

In addition to removing ‘normal’ from ads and packs, HUL's beauty and personal care brands are also committing to end all digital alterations that change a person’s body shape, size, proportions or skin colour, and to increase the number of ads portraying people from diverse and under-represented groups.

The FMCG giant said that it is taking action to help improve health and wellbeing, and advance equity and inclusion, to reach one billion people by 2030. By 2025, HUL has plans to make every plastic used in its packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable across brands, worldwide.

Earlier last year, HUL removed 'Fair' from its popular skincare brand Fair & Lovely brand, as a part of global rebranding exercise. The brand is now called Glow & Lovely.