Crayola has released a 24-pack of crayons, pencils and markers with shades that represent a diverse range of skin tones.
The 'Colors of the World' packs include newly-formulated drawing tools that represent 40 global skin tones to ensure children can draw themselves accurately.
Boxes of crayons manufactured by the art supplies giant since 1903 historically contained blue, black, brown, green, orange, red, violet, and yellow - making it difficult for children to find their own shade.
While the markers will not be available in Australia until June, publicity from the US prompted fierce discussion with some labelling the move as 'political correctness on steroids'.
Someone else said: 'Too many left marketing people in that organisation.'
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But others praised the move as a 'great idea' and 'just what we needed'.
The crayons, which were developed with MAC chief chemist and Cover FX co-founder Victor Casale, take undertones into account rather than just ranging from light to dark, offering up a wide range of shades for kids to choose from.
Undertones include Rose, Almond, and Golden, while gradients range from Extra Light to Deepest - giving the crayons names likes 'light medium rose,' 'very light almond,' 'extra deep golden,' 'deep rose,' and 'deepest almond.'
Mr Casale, who has more than 30 years of experience creating diverse foundation colors, worked with Crayola teams for three months on the project, translating his makeup color expertise to crayons.
'[In MAC and Cover FX makeup], the colors are all very precise and very close to each other,' he previously told DailyMail.com.
'We tested and validated the colors on shade models - each shade was tested on real people of that shade. When you apply a complexion product on your face, and you compare it to your skin - side by side - you have to be very precise.
'When translating this knowledge and experience to support the Colors of the World initiative, I felt it would be difficult for a child to notice the differences on paper,' he explained.
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Instead, he combined two very close complexion shades into one crayon shade 'to achieve a full representation of all-inclusive shades into a palette of 24'.
'This is actually a process many beauty brands follow when they have to pare down their complexion assortment to fit into smaller sized distribution channels,' he said.
'The key is that every person can identify with a shade in the Colors of the World box.'
Crayola CEO Rich Wuerthele said the new colours will help 'increase representation and foster a greater sense of belonging and acceptance'.
'We want the new Colors of the World crayons to advance inclusion within creativity and impact how kids express themselves,' he said.
The colour names are printed on the crayons in English, Spanish, and French.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
