A spokeswoman for L'Oréal, the world's largest manufacturer of cosmetics, said that the company decided to stop using words in its products such as “white”, “blonde” and “lightening” the skin color, a day after Unilever announced a similar decision, to counter a wave Increasing criticism on social media.
Unilever and L'Oréal are two major companies in the global market for skin-lightening powders that are used in many Asian, African and Caribbean countries, where light skin is often considered desirable.
Unilever, in particular, has been criticized for its "Fair & Lovely" trademark, at a time when the world is focusing on racial injustice after weeks of protests sparked in May by the death of the black American George Floyd after police detained him in the United States.
Johnson & Johnson went one step further, when it said it would stop selling skin-lightening powders sold in Asia and the Middle East under the "Nitrogena" and "Clean & Clear" brands.