Band-Aid announces plans to release racially diverse range of bandages

After years of petitions, US plaster brand Band-Aid has confirmed it will launch racially diverse bandages.

The company has announced plans to launch bandages to match a range of skin tones from beige to dark brown to “embrace the beauty of diverse skin,” it said on Thursday.

The brand, which is owned by cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson, said the new products would be rolled out in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, which is continuing the gain momentum in the US and across the world, sparked by the death of George Floyd in May.

Floyd, an unarmed black man, died during arrest in Minneapolis after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Chauvin has since been fired and charged with second-degree murder, while three other officers present at the arrest have been charged with aiding and abetting.

The announcement from Band-Aid comes as thousands of social media users highlighted how store bought plasters were just one example of institutionalised racism, usually only coming in shades designed to match a white skin tone.

In the UK, Tesco made headlines in February after becoming the first supermarket to offer racially diverse bandages.

Band-Aid has not yet confirmed when the new range would be available.