Hey, CVS is doing something good and it doesn’t appear it’s solely motivated to improve profits. They are telling vendors that they will no longer accept beauty photos (for ads, in-store graphics, etc.) that have been edited with Photoshop or other programs. In other words, they want the model to look as they do in real life.
I’m not sure if they’ll just make sure they have super-attractive models or if some of the graphics will start featuring average looking people, but in either case, kudos to them for saying that some of these photos are not real and give false and unrealistic images for kids and women to aspire to.
The President of CVS Pharmacy is Helena Foulkes, no word on whether her photos will be retouched or not. Also nothing on how many hours this program will require be cut from the stores for funding…
Here’s an example of what Photoshop can do to a model’s photo.
From Drug Store News
CVS Pharmacy is making a new commitment to transparency in beauty imagery. The Woonsocket, R.I.-based retail division of CVS Health will be creating standards for post-production alterations to imagery for beauty in its stores and marketing materials, as well as on social media and its websites.
The company also is introducing the CVS Beauty Mark, which will be used to distinguish images that haven’t been materially altered, which it defines as changing or enhancing a person’s shape, size, proportion, skin or eye color, wrinkles or other individual characteristics.The initiative also will see the retailer requiring transparency on any images that have been materially altered by 2020.
“As a woman, mother and president of a retail business whose customers predominantly are women, I realize we have a responsibility to think about the messages we send to the customers we reach each day,” CVS Health vice president and CVS Pharmacy president Helena 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.”
The CVS Beauty Mark will start appearing this year on CVS Pharmacy-produced beauty imagery, and the retailer said its goal is to have transparency on all images in its beauty aisles by 2020.
“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,” Foulkes said. “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.”