JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Band-Aid is getting a long overdue makeover.
The ubiquitous adhesive wound care product will now come in different shades to “embrace the beauty of diverse skin.”
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The Band-Aid debuted in 1920 and has essentially featured clear or lighter shades of covering on its products. The company announced on social media that it would begin producing Band-Aids in “deep shades of Brown and Black skin tones."
Johnson & Johnson refers to its product as BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages to separate it from generic Band-Aids. It experimented with the Perfect Blends line in 2005 that added different shades, but ultimately discontinued those “due to lack of interest at the time.” Perfect Blends still remains, but those are clear.
Smaller companies have made different shades of Band-Aids, but Johnson & Johnson is the pioneer of the product.
“We hear you. We see you. We’re listening to you. We stand in solidarity with our Black colleagues, collaborators, and community in the fight against racism, violence, and injustice. We are committed to taking actions to create tangible change for the Black community,” the brand said in an Instagram post.
“We are committed to launching a range of bandages in light, medium, and deep shades of Brown and Black skin tones that embrace the beauty of diverse skin. We are dedicated to inclusivity and providing the best healing solutions, better representing you. In addition, we will be making a donation to @blklivesmatter. We promise that this is just the first among many steps together in the fight against systemic racism,” the post continued. “We can, we must, and we will do better.”
Johnson & Johnson announced on June 2 that it was donating $10 million “to fighting racism and injustice in America—a pledge that will span the next three years.”