The Economics of Beauty
The Fairness Cream Debate
How skin-lightening creams became a big business in India, why they were criticised for promoting colourism, and how the industry responded in 2020.
Skin-lightening or fairness creams have long been a large business in India and other countries.
The market
- Fair & Lovely, launched by Hindustan Unilever in 1975, became one of India’s biggest beauty brands.
- Men’s fairness creams followed.
The criticism
- Ads linked fair skin with success in jobs and marriage.
- Critics said this reinforced colourism: prejudice against darker skin.
- Campaigns like “Dark is Beautiful” (2009) challenged these norms.
Regulation
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) issued guidelines in 2014 against ads showing darker-skinned people as inferior.
The 2020 change
Amid global protests over racism in 2020, Hindustan Unilever renamed Fair & Lovely to Glow & Lovely and dropped words like “fair” and “whitening” from marketing.
Economic lesson
Businesses can profit from social norms, but changing norms and pressure can force change. Critics note products remained largely similar despite rebranding.
In 2020, the famous fairness cream brand changed its name and ads, focusing on "glow" rather than fairness, after public pressure.
Marketing can reinforce harmful social norms.
- Fairness creams became a large business in India.
- Critics said ads reinforced colourism.
- ASCI issued guidelines in 2014.
- Fair & Lovely was renamed Glow & Lovely in 2020.
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