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Soap Manufacturer To Remove The Word ‘Normal’ From Products Because It ‘Excluded’ People

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Unilever, the manufacturer of beauty and hygiene products like Dove soap, will eliminate the word “normal” from its products in an effort to be more inclusive, the company announced Tuesday. It will also cease digital alterations of body shapes and skin colors in all marketing campaigns going forward.

Unilever conducted their own poll of roughly 10,000 people from around the world. It revealed that greater than fifty percent believed that the use of the word “normal” in descriptions made them feel “excluded,” according to multiple reports. Approximately 70% voted that using the word in marketing campaigns had a negative influence.

“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,” Sunny Jain, president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division, told Reuters. (RELATED: Black Woman In ‘Racist’ Dove Ad Says ‘I Am Not A Victim’)

The company has faced backlash for previous advertising campaigns.

In one previous marketing campaign, Unilever received criticism after being accused of negatively stereotyping darker skin tones. As a result, they rebranded its successful skin-lightening brand in India from “Fair & Lovely” to “Glow & Lovely,” CNBC reported.

A commercial for Dove body wash from 2017 showed a black woman removing her top to reveal a white woman, then removing her top again to reveal an Asian woman. That advertisement also received substantial backlash.

In conjunction with the rebranding, the company also stated that it would halt digital alterations of their models in advertisements.

The new marketing strategy will result in over a hundred Unilever brands removing the word “normal.” Instead, those brands will use words such as “grey hair” for shampoo products and “moisture replenish” for skin creams. The rebranding is expected to occur by March of 2022.