L’Oréal is included on PETA’s “do test” list. What does that mean?

L’Oreal has been included on PETA’s list of companies that test on animals for many years because it refused to adopt a company-wide policy against tests on animals for both its ingredients and finished products, and because it sells cosmetics products in China that are required by law to be tested on animals by government agencies. In order to be listed as “cruelty-free” with PETA (and be included on our list of companies that do not test on animals) a company must agree that it does not and will not conduct, commission pay for, or allow tests on animals for any of their ingredients, formulations, and products, anywhere in the world.

Over the years, L’Oreal has made positive progress and taken important steps towards ending tests on animals for its products. The company adopted a policy not to test its “finished products” on animals, and eventually adopted a policy not to test its products’ ingredients on animals. The company has also contributed significant resources to the research and development of non-animal test methods to replace some of the cruel and outdated animal test methods currently still in use. L’Oreal has also established a robust presence in China to advocate for the government to end its requirements for tests on animals for cosmetics sold there. 

We applaud L’Oreal for its commitment to and progress in ending tests on animals and promoting non-animal test methods, yet L’Oreal is not eligible to be included on PETA’s cruelty-free list. L’Oreal still chooses to sell cosmetics in China that are required by law to be tested on animals. While the Chinese government has relaxed some of the provisions of their animal testing requirements for cosmetics, it still requires that cosmetics companies pay for painful and deadly tests on animals in order to sell certain types of cosmetics. Although some of L’Oreal’s products currently being sold in China may no longer be subject to the requirements for tests on animals, L’Oreal admits that some of the products it sells there are required by law to be tested on animals. L’Oreal’s carefully-worded policy statement only claims that the company itself does not conduct tests on animals; L’Oreal does not deny that it pays the Chinese government to test its products on animals. 

We’ve worked with many compassionate companies that have either withdrawn from the Chinese market or refused to sell in China until the country’s requirements for tests on animals for cosmetics are lifted. We urge L’Oreal to join these companies by taking an uncompromising stance on this issue and withdrawing from the Chinese market until tests on animals for its products are no longer required.