SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
That Dove ad is not Unilever's biggest ethical dilemma
Should a company with an avowed mission to be a leader in responsible business be selling products that tell people they need to be fairer?
Personal care brand Dove found itself in hot water for an advertisement widely criticised as racist. In a video published on Facebook, a black woman is portrayed as morphing into a white one, with the body wash prominently positioned in the foreground. Unilever said it "deeply regret[s] the offence" it caused, and that "the video was intended to convey that Dove body wash is for every woman and be a celebration of diversity". It added that it was revaluating its internal processes for creating and approving content to prevent similar mistakes. The scandal has opened up a much bigger ethical and strategic dilemma for its parent company, Unilever: should a company with an avowed mission to be a leader in sustainable and responsible business be selling products that tell people — usually women — that they need to be fairer than they naturally are? Several products in the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant’s global portfolio have skin whitening or fairness properties, the most notable one being...
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