As of today, selected Unilever brands including Dove won’t use the word ‘normal’ on product packaging and advertising.
Unilever, who owns Dove, Sunsilk and several other brands in their beauty and personal care portfolio, has culled the word as part of an ongoing Positive Beauty strategy.
Their goal is to champion a ‘new era of beauty which is equitable, inclusive and sustainable’, and this latest move is just one step in that process.
Eliminating the word ‘normal’, which to some might suggest anything outside of this is abnormal, is a decision that was based on challenging narrow beauty ideals.
When thinking of a skincare product that comes in ‘normal’ and ‘oily’ varieties for example, it’s important to note that oily skin is normal. This is what Unilever is attempting to address with its wording.
Unilever says they are also putting in additional efforts to end discrimination and advocate for an inclusive vision of beauty by deciding to no longer digitally alter images of people in advertising.
This goes for body shapes, sizes, and skin colour.
Alongside this, they say advertising going forward will include people from under-represented and diverse groups.
A 10,000-person global study run by the company revealed that the word ‘normal’ when used to describe skin or hair makes people feel excluded.
Overall, more than half of those surveyed believe the beauty and personal care industry can ostracise people.
Seven in 10 people think the word ‘normal’ can have a negative impact, though the statistics increase for people aged from 18 to 35.
There’s an overwhelming view that consumers want beauty brands to focus more on making people feel better, rather than just look better, as 74% said they wanted to see this change.
Over half of those studied also said they pay more attention than they used to on the stance of a company’s societal issues before buying items.
Unilever found that 69% of people would recommend a brand to others if it caters to a wide range of skin and hair types, while half say they’d be willing to pay more for this.
Sunny Jain, President Beauty & Personal Care, says: ‘It’s clear that people are increasingly aware that harmful norms can shape the way we think and feel, and that they are demanding a broader definition of beauty.
‘With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, we know we have the power to make a real difference and that by doing so, we will become a stronger, more successful business.
‘Of course, we know that removing ‘normal’ alone will not fix the problem, but we believe it is an important step towards a more inclusive definition of beauty.’
As the brand attempts to do less ‘harm’ to people with their packaging and advertising as Sunny says, they’re also working on a number of environmental initiatives and are key players in pushing for a global ban on animal testing in cosmetics by 2023.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/09/unilever-removes-the-word-normal-from-their-products-14211953/
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