Courtesy of CVS.
CVS Pharmacy is making serious changes to what you’ll see in the beauty aisle.
The brand announced on Monday that it’s pledging to quit “materially altering” any imagery used in its stores, websites, social media, and marketing starting this April. In fact, a watermark, which the brand coined the CVS Beauty Mark, will appear on all of the materially unaltered imagery in the form of a heart inside of a circle. The retailer is taking the commitment even further by asking the brands that line its shelves to follow suit by skipping the Photoshop or to label those retouched images accordingly.
“We’ve reached out to many of our beauty brand partners, many of whom are already thinking about this important issue, to work together to ensure that the beauty aisle is a place that represents and celebrates the authenticity and diversity of the communities we serve,” Helena Foulkes, President of CVS Pharmacy and Executive Vice President, CVS Health, said in a press release. “We’ve been inspired by their willingness to partner with us to redefine industry standards around this important issue for the well-being of all of our customers.”
The change is meant not only to challenge beauty standards for the young and old that are often made impossible with tools like airbrushing and Photoshop but to also enhance transparency in beauty and make the store a place “to not only look good but feel good too.” As Foulkes said, “The connection between the propagation of unrealistic body images and negative health effects, especially in girls and young women, has been established. As a purpose-led company, we strive to do our best to assure all of the messages we are sending to our customers reflect our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.”
But if you’re scratching your head about what exactly “materially altered” means, you’re not the one. As The New York Times‘ Vanessa Friedman pointed out, these measures of transparency can become muddled between the brands’ and consumers expectations, like whether or not to keep a zit in the final shot. But according to the press release, the brand says it won’t “change or enhance a person’s size, shape, proportion, skin or eye color, wrinkles or any other individual characteristics.” So while we’re likely to see a fine line here and an age spot there, errant flyaways and awkward lighting will likely be adjusted.
The industry has made many strides to present more authentic images with a slew of brands forgoing the use of Photoshop in their photo projects and campaigns. Dove started the conversation back in 2004 with the launch of its Campaign for Real Beauty, which grew from a small photo exhibition and a few billboards to some of the most-watched ad videos of all time, and fashion brands like Aerie, Target, Modcloth and more have jumped on the bandwagon and presenting their models unretouched. And while it still has a ways to go, this is one step in the right direction.