It’s Monday again. This means it’s time to examine the animal testing policy of another beauty brand. By popular demand, I thought of examining L’Occitane’s animal testing policy today. So let’s start.
Does L’Occitane test on animals?
- L’OCCITANE does not and has never tested its products, its active ingredients or its raw materials on animals at any point in the product development or manufacturing process.
As stated in L’Occitane’s animal testing policy, L’Occitane has never tested on animals. I believe that this is true. Till some years ago before the China issue was exposed, L’Occitane was one of the pioneers of cruelty-free beauty products. So no, L’Occitane does not test on animals.
Is L’Occitane owned by a parent that is not cruelty-free?
L’Occitane does not seem to be owned by any other company yet.
Is L’Occitane certified cruelty-free?
L’Occitane is not certified cruelty-free. PETA lists L’Occitane as an animal testing company.
Is L’Occitane cruelty-free?
- In China, where our products are retailed, the local Chinese authorities request testing on some cosmetic products sold on the Chinese market, as they view it as the best way to safeguard their consumers’ safety.
I wish I could say yes, but in their animal testing policy, L’Occitane is confirming that they are selling their products in China. - Our company does not conduct those tests; they are done by Chinese laboratories, approved by local authorities on a limited animal panel.
L’Occitane is also confirming that their products go through animal testing by the Chinese authorities. So no, in my books L’Occitane is not cruelty-free. There are ways to avoid these animal tests from happening and L’Occitane seems to be taking the easy and profitable way.
Which brands should I support instead?
If you are looking for a brand who is serious about its anti-animal-testing policy. Check my list of brands that are against animal testing. If you have other brands which you have questions about, please leave a comment below.
As you might have noticed, I am differentiating between whether a brand test on animals and whether a brand is cruelty-free. By EU law, a brand cannot sell in the EU if it tests on animals. So any brand you find in EU countries, if it’s not illegally smuggled, is not tested on animals. Some of these brands that do not test on animals, sell their products in China, so they become not cruelty-free. The reason being that by selling in China they agreed to take the risk of their products being tested on animals by the authorities. This part does not clash with the EU animal-testing ban, so the EU still considers these brands as cruelty-free. However, since I know about China’s requirements, I prefer not to support such brands.
That is all for today. I hope that you have learnt something from this post. If you have questions or you do not agree on something, please leave a comment below.
Source: L’Occitane Animal Testing Policy as at 1/9/2019