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Is L’Oreal Cruelty-Free?

Posted on Friday - October 7, 2016 by Tashina Combs & Last updated on Friday - October 7, 2016 21 Comments

Is L'Oreal Cruelty-Free?

Lately I have been receiving a lot of emails and social media comments asking if the rumors were true – had L’Oreal changed their animal testing stance? Is L’Oreal cruelty-free? Many people who emailed me were asking of the laws in China had changed to now allow brands like L’Oreal to avoid animal testing.

Because of the large number of these inquiries, and the questions included in them, I decided that creating a blog post about this would be the most informative response for everyone. In this post, I will answer all of the questions that I have been receiving. This post is long and has a lot of information. The goal is that you will be able to have any of your questions answered by the time you are done reading it.

Editor’s note: This was originally posted on November 8, 2015 but I have continued to get a lot of questions about L’Oreal and their cruelty-free status. Because of this, I wanted to update the original article to help answer the questions of many confused consumers out there. This post has been updated to reflect any current changes or updates.

For those who don’t want to read through this entire post, the plain and simple answer to the question I kept getting, “Is L’Oreal cruelty-free?” is no. L’Oreal is not cruelty-free.  Here are a few bullet points to explain why.

  • L’Oreal states that they allow for their products to be tested on animals to comply with regulatory laws in place around the world.
  • The changes to animal testing laws in China do not change the animal testing policies for all beauty products. Animal testing is still required for many of the products that L’Oreal produces.
  • The changes to animal testing laws in China do not impact international brands in the same way that they impact brands who manufacture and sell only in China.
  • L’Oreal manufactures their products in many countries around the world, not only in China. China still requires animal testing for all beauty items that are imported into China for sale.

The first place to start with any brand is to find out their official stance on animal testing. L’Oreal includes their animal testing stance on their own website. It reads,

Does L’Oreal test on animals?

L’Oréal no longer tests on animals any of its products or any of its ingredients, anywhere in the world. Nor does L’Oréal delegate this task to others. The rare exception allowed is if regulatory authorities demand it for safety or regulatory purposes.

What do you mean by ‘an exception could be made if authorities required it for human safety or regulatory purposes’?

The exception is very rare and stems from the variety of regulations worldwide. Certain authorities have not yet accepted alternative methods in their country and could hypothetically require us to conduct safety evaluations on animals. Also, in response to questions raised by the scientific community and by civil society, local authorities could choose to reexamine the safety data of a known family of ingredients, and could require new safety data.

What about China?

In China, the regulatory authorities carry out within their evaluation centers animal tests for finished cosmetics products before these are placed on their market. We think these tests are unnecessary but we cannot prevent them.

The key thing to take away from this statement is, “The rare exception allowed is if regulatory authorities demand it for safety or regulatory purposes.” This statement means that, when required to, L’Oreal does test on animals or allow their products to be tested on animals.

Currently, L’Oreal does sell their products in China where animal testing is still mandatory and required by law for the large majority of cosmetics.

In their statement about China, L’Oreal is accurate when they state that regulatory authorities carry out the animal tests within their evaluation centers. However, what they are leaving out is that the brands that create these products are responsible for paying for the tests to occur. To enter the Chinese market, brands sign an agreement to allow their products to be tested on animals and the brands also pay the fees for these tests to occur.

Many people have asked if the recent changes to laws in China about animal testing mean that L’Oreal is cruelty-free. Sadly, they do not.

The post China Takes First Steps Towards Ending Animal Testing, details what products and brands have potentially been impacted by these changes. Please read that post for more in-depth details. To summarize some important key points –

  • The changes made in China impact ordinary use cosmetics only. As defined by the Chemical Inspection Regulatory Service (CIRS) in China, ordinary cosmetics include general hair care, nail care, cosmetics, perfumes and skin care.
  • Non-ordinary cosmetics will still be required to be tested on animals. According to CIRS, these are products that claim to have a functional use on the label (such as hair growth, hair dye, hair removal, deodorizing, sun block, skin whitening, skin pigmentation & more). Take a peek at your beauty stash, and you are sure to see statements all over that would make items “non-ordinary”.
  • Only ordinary cosmetics that are manufactured and sold only in China will be allowed to use alternatives to animal testing. They are not required to use alternative methods and can continue to test these items on animals if the brand desires.
  • Non-ordinary cosmetics that are manufactured and sold only in China are still required to be tested on animals. They are not allowed to use alternative testing methods to prove the safety of these products.
  • Both non-ordinary and ordinary cosmetics that are manufactured outside of China and imported into China for sale are still required to be tested on animals.
  • If a brand makes both ordinary use and non-ordinary use cosmetics, the brand cannot be cruelty-free as they are still making products that require animal testing.

While these changes can mean a reduction in animal testing for some brands, post-market animal testing requirements in China were increased after the initial law went into effect. Brands who sell in China will still be required to submit their products to regulatory animal testing. This also means that ordinary cosmetics may still be tested on animals by the Chinese government. In fact, the chances that a finished product of any kind will be tested on animals is now higher.

Leaping Bunny also issued a great press release about this topic.

Many people have also asked if because L’Oreal manufactures their products in China if that means that they are cruelty-free. This is not the case. For starters, L’Oreal does not manufacture items only in China. According to L’Oreal, they own 41 manufacturing plants on all continents. Recent additions are in Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Egypt. While some animal testing may have been reduced for brands who manufacture in China, all items imported into China still require animal testing to occur.

This issue is very confusing for many of us. I strive to make sure that you are getting the most accurate and credible information out there. As consumers, it can be a tricky world to navigate at times and very confusing. My goal is to make sure that you know what brands you can trust to be cruelty-free.

Last updated on Friday - October 7, 2016 Filed Under: Beauty & Cosmetics

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susan Schultz says

    Monday - July 31, 2017 at 9:59 am

    Tashina
    Thank you for all of the research you do! It is so helpful !
    Susan Schultz

    Reply
  2. Christine Saranchuk says

    Saturday - July 29, 2017 at 3:31 pm

    I would like to thank you for your hard work. You have confirmed what I knew about L’Oreal. I cannot support a company that feels it is okay to test on animals for the almighty dollar.

    Reply
  3. Pamela murillo says

    Tuesday - July 4, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    Hello, I appreciate your research on this topic. My BF uses Kiehls. I am not ok with him using those products bc the parent company is Loreal. Am I wrong to take this stance? Thanks for your help in advance

    Reply
  4. Faith Keolker says

    Sunday - May 28, 2017 at 10:20 am

    Great information Tashina, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. vanessa says

    Friday - May 5, 2017 at 1:25 pm

    i have seen a recently updated statement they put out that says that they no longer have any exceptions towards animal testing and i am very confused right now. Do you have any extra light you can shed on me about this? Thank you and i think its amazing that you dedicate so much time to educate people on being cruelty free!

    Reply
    • Tashina Combs says

      Thursday - May 18, 2017 at 11:00 am

      Hi Vanessa,

      Their recent statements still state that they do test when required by law. 🙁

      Reply
  6. Teena says

    Monday - October 10, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    First of all I’d Like to say Thank You Tashina.
    Secondly, girls do not think that Loreal is ever e-v-e-r- going to stop the nonsense.
    If Loreal stopped testing it would be like saying I stopped picking flowers out of the yard. But because all of the flowers were already picked!

    Then a new flower would grow…..but oh just this once!

    Reply
  7. Florence says

    Monday - October 10, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    Thank you for in depth research. Much appreciated.

    Reply
  8. Amber says

    Monday - October 10, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I love your work Tashina I really do I’ve known for a long time L’Oréal is not cruelty free I don’t touch anything with their name on it …. I was wondering if you know of cruelty free hair color brands? thank you again you do amazing work god bless you

    Reply
    • Julie Madrigal says

      Saturday - October 22, 2016 at 10:35 pm

      Nutratint is my all time FAVORITE hair dye. I starting using it prior to going cruelty free. It has absolutely no smell and I get so many compliments on the color. I say give it a try. You can purchase it at Whole Foods, Mothers and Spouts. I buy it in bulk (6 boxes) online, so it comes out to about $10.00 a box.

      Reply
  9. KZ says

    Saturday - October 8, 2016 at 6:32 am

    Wow thank you so much for compiling all of this information for us. Logical Harmony is an amazing trustworthy resource that I utilize almost every time I’m buying a beauty product or household product. Your hard work is so appreciated ?

    Reply
  10. Billie Jones says

    Monday - June 6, 2016 at 11:58 am

    If China continues to use animals for testing , why does L’Oreal continue to do any business with China? I realize the almighty dollar is what’s most important to to many of this large companies , but not so with many consumers. I personally used a number of your products and you will note I wrote used , because after I saw an ad where Beagle dogs are used to test , it’s eye gad been removed , then they will use the other eye rendering the dog blind and then it is killed… I cannot abide by that and will not use any of your products .

    Reply
  11. Marilyn Holmes-Williams says

    Wednesday - June 1, 2016 at 4:54 am

    I want to live a cruelty free life, so thank you for your hard and in depth work.

    Reply
  12. Julia says

    Friday - January 8, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    I think it’s so hypocritical that China is so concerned with the safety of imported cosmetics when they themselves are lax in regulating food products (ie, baby formula; chicken dog treats). My mom ate peanuts from China she bought at an Asian market and she got sick. I told her it’s because it’s from China. She stopped buying them, but for some reason decided to try them again recently. Guess what happened. Yup, got sick again.

    Reply
  13. Julie says

    Tuesday - November 10, 2015 at 11:04 am

    As always thank you for all your hard work. I hope this post gets out there for lots of people to read.

    Reply
  14. Alli says

    Monday - November 9, 2015 at 9:55 am

    Thank you as always for your hard work and time that you put into keeping everyone informed. Sometimes I am not sure what we would do without Logical Harmony!

    Reply
    • Tashina Combs says

      Saturday - November 14, 2015 at 10:04 pm

      You are too kind. Thank you for reading! <3

      Reply
  15. Erin says

    Monday - November 9, 2015 at 8:24 am

    Too many people disregard the facts so they can “consciously” purchase the cosmetics that they are used to. There are SO MANY amazing 100% vegan and cruelty free makeup brands! Even ones that are affordable!

    Reply
  16. Pam Ryan says

    Monday - November 9, 2015 at 8:23 am

    Hi! Thank you so much for this post, it was really helpful! I’m an Irish cruelty-free blogger myself and I was wondering, what is your opinion on Leaping Bunny, can it be trusted? 🙂

    Reply
    • Tashina Combs says

      Saturday - November 14, 2015 at 10:04 pm

      I love Leaping Bunny and think they have a really great process for vetting brands. 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Urban Decay Vegan Products List - Logical Harmony says:
    Wednesday - July 31, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    […] are owned by L’Oreal. L’Oreal is not cruelty-free. I think everyone should decide for themselves how they feel about parent companies who test on […]

    Reply

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