Unilever has launched new Positive Beauty vision and strategy with the ambition to do more good, not just less harm, for people and the planet. — Photo Unilever

Unilever on Thursday announced it will eliminate the word ‘normal’ from all beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising, as part of the launch of its new Positive Beauty vision and strategy.

Positive Beauty, which sets out several progressive commitments and actions for Unilever's beauty and personal care brands, including Dove, Lifebuoy, Axe and Sunsilk, will champion a new era of beauty which is equitable and inclusive, as well as sustainable for the planet.

Using Unilever’s world class innovation and technology, Positive Beauty will also help to drive a transformation in how products are designed and formulated so that they do more good for both people and the planet, deliver a superior product experience, and tap into consumer trends.

The decision to remove ‘normal’ is one of many steps that Unilever are taking to challenge narrow beauty ideals, as the company works towards helping end discrimination and advocating for a more inclusive vision of beauty.

“We know that removing ‘normal’ from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward. It’s just one of a number of actions we are taking as part of our Positive Beauty vision, which aims not only to do less harm, but more good for both people and the planet,” said Sunny Jain, President Beauty & Personal Care.

“With more consumers than ever rewarding brands which take action on the social and environmental issues they care about, we believe that Positive Beauty will make us a stronger, and more successful business,” said Jain.

In addition to removing the word ‘normal’, Unilever will not digitally alter a person’s body shape, size, proportion or skin colour in its brand advertising, and will increase the number of advertisements portraying people from diverse groups who are under-represented. — VNS