Johnson & Johnson Stopped selling skin-whitening creams

Johnson & Johnson, a US multinational healthcare company, has said it will stop selling its popular skin whitening creams in Asia and the Middle East. The company made the announcement on Friday. The company made the announcement in the face of new social pressures due to the recent debate over global racial inequality. The British news agency Reuters reported.

A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson told Reuters the company would stop selling all Clean and Clear Fairness products sold in India. Earlier in June, the company announced that it would stop selling all Neutrogena Fine Fairness products in Asia and the Middle East.

“Conversations over the past few weeks highlighted that some product names or claims on our dark spot reducer products represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone,” Johnson & Johnson said. “This was never our intention – healthy skin is beautiful skin.”

The healthcare company said it would no longer produce or transport these products. But can be found in stores until stocks run out.

All the major personal care companies in the world are marketing skin whitening creams targeting women. These include Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L'Oreal. The cream brands of these companies are Fair & Lovely, Ole, and Garnier, respectively.

The companies did not respond to a request for comment from the media on the sale of Johnson & Johnson's skin whitening cream.

According to Euromonitor International, 6,277 tons of whitening cream were sold last year. These include products marketed as anti-aging creams targeting dark spots or freckles.