It’s that time of the week where I investigate why a brand is or is not cruelty-free. For this week, I took a random brand and chose to investigate Clarins. Let us start.
Does Clarins test on animals?
Let us go through their animal testing policy found below in bold and italics:
- Our Clarins experts also use the latest advances in non-animal safety testing to deliver the highest quality formulas.
The word “also” in this sentence makes me believe that they also use animal safety testing. - However, to provide our products and services to consumers wherever they live in the world, we must comply with each unique set of legal requirements for each country. Some countries still require animal testing to validate the safety of cosmetic ingredients in formulations.
In short, they test on animals when required by law.
So from all this, I am understanding that there are or could be cases where they test on animals. To be safe I believe that Clarins does test on animals. Currently, it is ok for a brand not to be fully vegan. However, it is not ok for a brand to say that they are cruelty-free or not tested on animals when they sometimes do test on animals. The EU ban might accept this arrangement. However, the people who are serious about banning products that are tested on animals, don’t accept such an arrangement.
Is Clarins owned by a parent that is not cruelty-free?
From what I could understand, Clarins is its own parent company.
Is Clarins certified cruelty-free?
No, on the contrary, Clarins is on the animal testing brands list on the PETA website.
Is Clarins cruelty-free?
Since they indicated that they sometimes do test on animals especially when required by law, and PETA considers it as an animal testing brand, it means that Clarins is not cruelty-free. However, let’s guess why or when they test on animals.
Does Clarins sell in Mainland China?
Just by going to the footer of the Clarins website, I went to the list of websites they have. I selected “Clarins China” and was redirected to the Chinese Clarins website which specifies that Clarins China is registered in Shanghai. So since they are also based in Mainland China, the answer is yes Clarins does sell in Mainland China. So Clarins is not cruelty-free just because they did not avoid their products from being tested by the authorities.
Which brands should I support instead?
If you are looking for a brand who is serious about their anti-animal-testing policy. Check my list of brands that are against animal testing.
Source: Clarins Animal Testing Policy as at 9/12/2019 and Clarins Mainland China website