L’Oreal will remove words ‘whitening,’ ‘fair,’ and ‘lightening’ from skin products

L’Oreal, the largest cosmetics and beauty company in the world, announced Saturday that it will no longer use words like “whitening” and “fair” on the packaging of its skin care products.  

“The L’Oreal Group has decided to remove the words white/whitening, fair/fairness, light/lightening from all its skin evening products,” the French cosmetics giant said in statement, according to multiple reports.

The French beauty company sparked ire earlier this month after tweeting that it “stands in solidarity with the Black community, and injustice of any kind.” British model Munroe Bergdorf, who was the company’s first transgender model before she was dropped in 2017, called out the brand, saying that it “threw me to the wolves for speaking out about racism and white supremacy,” CNN reported. 

The company has since rehired Bergdorf. She will also serve on the UK company’s diversity and inclusion advisory board, according to the outlet. 

Unilever announced this week that it will no change the name of its “Fair and Lovely” products. It will also remove words like “fair,” “white” and more. 

Johnson & Johnson this week also discontinued two skincare lines that use the word “fairness” on its labels. The products were not sold in the U.S., but they were distributed in Asia and the Middle East, according to The New York Times. 

The move comes amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a former Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes during an arrest last month. The protests have prompted calls for companies across industries to make widespread reforms.