In a first-person piece, Nandita Das reacts to a multinational company’s decision to drop words like ‘fairness’, ‘whitening’, ‘lightening’ from its line and even rebrand a popular cosmetic product
Nandita Das (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 26, 2020)

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, a number of social wrongs have found a surprisingly sympathetic audience. The announcement today by Hindustan Unilever that they will remove the words ‘fairness’, ‘whitening’ and ‘lightening’ from their line of products, which includes the brand name of their premier skin lightening product, is something I don’t think anyone saw coming. Even though it is more symbolic (after all, they have not discontinued the product, just changed the messaging), it is still a big step forward. Many brands spend hundreds of crores of rupees to spread the absurd message of fair being lovely in a largely dark country. So, when a market leader steps in, at the very least, it will certainly lead to an even wider debate.

The world is ridden with so many forms of discrimination — on the basis of religion, caste, gender, sexuality, language and of course, skin colour. A given identity, that one is born with, has become the most defining factor. But increasingly, it is being challenged, and thankfully, cannot be ignored.

Following this announcement will we only witness a more politically correct world where marketing of fairness products will be less obvious or will there be a shift in the way we define ourselves? That is yet to be seen. Skeptics have mocked the said premier skin lightening product, arguing that it is not even the skincare product it claims to be. Having said that, in a culture where beauty is primarily defined by skin colour, it’s quite lovely that suddenly the billion-dollar ‘whitening’ industry wants to be fair!

The Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum and tipped over into a wider social response after the heartless killing of George Floyd. This kind of violence was not new, but the protests have suddenly found acceptance. It is hard to believe that the change of heart is caused by anything other than a perceived shift in public opinion. And so yes, while it may be a calculated move, it does reflect something positive.

Yesterday, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would stop its line of skin whitening products. Also, that they would add more shades to their Band-Aids outside of the current ‘skin colour’. Whose skin are we talking about anyway! I thought to myself, ‘well, better late than never’. Maybe some in the cosmetic industry are realising that such products and imageries feed racist and colourist stereotypes. But finally, only those with the real intent to change the narrative will make a sustained difference.

It is worth reminding ourselves that the companies that sell products are not the root cause for this discrimination. While it is important that corporations show some responsibility towards social problems, it is fundamentally not an issue in which we should expect them to bring about a difference. We need to solve the problem of fairness obsession we all carry. They are only using the age-old prejudice to sell more creams and fancy dreams to entice more customers. And we are talking about a $4 billion industry here.

The bigger and more pertinent question is: Will the mindset change and to what extent will the change in advertising strategy influence that? But having said that, every step in the right direction needs to be acknowledged. All stakeholders together, will make a difference.

I have always been outspoken about colour bias that is hidden in plain sight for as long as I can remember — not only through my memories, but also through the stories I have heard from women older than me. In 2013, a Chennai-based organisation approached me to support their campaign, Dark Is Beautiful. While I knew that the impact of colour bias is far-reaching, insidious and deeply affects our sense of selfworth and confidence, I didn’t realise it would touch such a raw nerve. It suddenly went viral and brought attention to this prejudice which has been normalised over the years. By default, I became the face of the campaign. Probably because most actors were becoming lighter with every film.

I revamped the campaign in 2019, its 10th anniversary, and called it India’s Got Colour, to make it more inclusive and to celebrate diversity. While it was nothing but a drop in the ocean, every drop brings us closer to the tipping point.