Fairness and technology justice
Yesterday the Sunday Times had an article on the Dark is Beautiful campaign of which Nandita Das is a leader. (Dark is Beautiful also has a facebook page if you want to follow their campaign). I used the fairness cream cosmetic industry as a particular South Asian example of technology injustice in a roundtable on the subject at Practical Action's recent Green Technology Exhibition. Technology justice is a concept that has become the rallying call of Practical Action (formerly ITDG and now transformed into Janathakshan in Sri Lanka)
Technology Justice is defined by Practical Action as “the right of people to decide, choose and use technologies that assist them in leading the kind of life they value without compromising the ability of others and future generations to do the same.” An understanding of the concept is generated largely through its opposite, technology injustice – and the focus seems to be on recognizing the unequal exploitation and use of resources, and trying to reorient technology and technology innovation from market demand, to meeting the needs of people, especially poor women and men who have few lifestyle choices. The examples juxtapose bio-fuel production vs food, large scale fishing vs small artisanal fisher livelihoods, the investment in addressing male baldness vs investment in malaria.
The 'fairness' industry is another example of technology injustice, in that it distorts our ideas of beauty and marginalises dark skinned people, mainly young dark skinned women, though men too are also using skin lightening products. Sixty two percent of the women in India use skin lighteners and whitening products accounted for 84% of the skin moisturising market in India. The global skin lightening market is huge, forty five percent of the skin care market is accounted for by 'fairness' products, and the market share globally is projected to reach USD 19.8 billion by 2018. Skin whitening ingredients can be harmful, and the main ingredients, hydroquinone and arbutin, are banned in Europe which has stimulated investment in research for a safer skin whitening product! A cursory trawl through the internet suggests that one such investment was support to the tune of USD 1.5 million granted by the French Government to a French cosmetic company in 2011!
We have our own addiction to pale skin as seen by the popularity of Fair and Lovely in our market. At a more sophisticated level, Spa Ceylon opened SpaWhite in January this year “focusing on luxuriously indulgent skin whitening rituals to pamper guests from head to toe.” Rather sadly, when I was presenting these facts at the recent roundtable discussion the female head of research in one of Sri Lanka’s eminent scientific research institutes unabashedly declared the need to research natural ingredients for skin whitening, without even bothering to question the whole concept of ‘pale is beautiful’! We women can sometimes be our own enemies!
Technology Justice is defined by Practical Action as “the right of people to decide, choose and use technologies that assist them in leading the kind of life they value without compromising the ability of others and future generations to do the same.” An understanding of the concept is generated largely through its opposite, technology injustice – and the focus seems to be on recognizing the unequal exploitation and use of resources, and trying to reorient technology and technology innovation from market demand, to meeting the needs of people, especially poor women and men who have few lifestyle choices. The examples juxtapose bio-fuel production vs food, large scale fishing vs small artisanal fisher livelihoods, the investment in addressing male baldness vs investment in malaria.
The 'fairness' industry is another example of technology injustice, in that it distorts our ideas of beauty and marginalises dark skinned people, mainly young dark skinned women, though men too are also using skin lightening products. Sixty two percent of the women in India use skin lighteners and whitening products accounted for 84% of the skin moisturising market in India. The global skin lightening market is huge, forty five percent of the skin care market is accounted for by 'fairness' products, and the market share globally is projected to reach USD 19.8 billion by 2018. Skin whitening ingredients can be harmful, and the main ingredients, hydroquinone and arbutin, are banned in Europe which has stimulated investment in research for a safer skin whitening product! A cursory trawl through the internet suggests that one such investment was support to the tune of USD 1.5 million granted by the French Government to a French cosmetic company in 2011!
We have our own addiction to pale skin as seen by the popularity of Fair and Lovely in our market. At a more sophisticated level, Spa Ceylon opened SpaWhite in January this year “focusing on luxuriously indulgent skin whitening rituals to pamper guests from head to toe.” Rather sadly, when I was presenting these facts at the recent roundtable discussion the female head of research in one of Sri Lanka’s eminent scientific research institutes unabashedly declared the need to research natural ingredients for skin whitening, without even bothering to question the whole concept of ‘pale is beautiful’! We women can sometimes be our own enemies!
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