As part of the launch of Unilever’s new Positive Beauty vision and strategy, the company announced the word “normal” would be eliminated from all beauty and personal care brand packaging and advertising. Positive Beauty, which sets out progressive commitments and actions, will champion a new era of beauty that is equitable and inclusive, as well as sustainable for the planet.

The decision to remove “normal” is one of many steps Unilever is taking to challenge narrow beauty ideals with the aim to help end discrimination and advocating for a more inclusive vision of beauty. It comes as global research into people’s experiences of the beauty industry reveals that using “normal” to describe hair or skin makes most people feel excluded.

“With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, our brands have the power to make a real difference to people’s lives. As part of this, we are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty,” said Sunny Jain, President, Beauty & Personal Care. “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.”

In a study commissioned by Unilever, 56% of people think that the beauty and personal care industry can make people feel excluded. People want to see the beauty and personal care industry focusing more on making people feel better, than just looking better (74%). More than half of people (52%) say they now pay more attention to a company’s stance on societal issues before buying products. When it comes to using the word “normal” on product packaging and advertising, seven in ten people agree it has a negative impact, and for those aged 18-35 this rises to eight in ten.

Amira Freyer-Elgendy, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, said, “Removing descriptors such as ‘Normal,’ alongside other inclusivity actions such as the company’s promise to stop digital alterations to the bodies and skin color of models in their campaigns, illustrates that inclusivity is not just a passing trend for Unilever or limited to brands with a matching public image, like Dove.”

She continued, “According to a survey by GlobalData asking whether consumers’ purchasing decisions were impacted by whether or not a company supported social causes, one in four believe that it is essential and a further 45% believe it is a ‘nice to have.’ Younger consumers were found to be even more likely to see the importance of social causes, with almost a third (31%) of under 35s agreeing that this support is essential to their decision of whether to purchase from a brand.”

In addition to removing the word “normal,” Unilever will not digitally alter a person’s body shape, size, proportion, or skin color in its brand advertising, and will increase the number of advertisements portraying people from diverse groups who are underrepresented.

Sarah Degnan Kambou, President of the International Center for Research on Women, said: “Every day, we see and hear messages about how to ‘fit in,’ how to be included in very narrow definitions of what is ‘normal.’ In order to champion equity, we need to challenge these restrictive ‘norms’ and create societies and communities that celebrate diversity—and the unique qualities and ideas that each person brings. Beauty is no exception. We look forward to seeing Unilever advance these commitments and hold themselves to the high standards they have set out before them.”

Consumers increasingly expect brands to take a stand on the issues they care most about. Unilever’s brands perceived as more purposeful grew more than twice as fast as the rest of the portfolio in 2020. The company’s research further supports this trend, with the majority of people (69%) saying they will recommend a beauty brand to their friends and family if it caters to a wide range of skin and hair types, while half of respondents would pay more for these products.

Jain concluded, “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.”

Central to Positive Beauty is the ambition to do more good, not just less harm, for people and the planet.