Animal Testing

We get asked all the time about animal testing and whether our natural and organic cosmetics are cruelty free. The answer is yes they most certainly are!

Weleda has never tested any of its individual ingredients nor finished beauty products on animals. We don’t carry any bunny symbols on our packs because we are a global brand with international packaging, and we have the NATRUE seal on every single one of our cosmetics. NATRUE is against animal testing; their criteria stipulates:

“Products must comply first and foremost with the basic requirements of Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, particularly with regard to their composition, safety, efficacy and labelling requirements. Furthermore, animal testing is fundamentally against NATRUE’s underlying values and ethics. It is for this reason that the NATRUE criteria extends the animal testing ban on finished cosmetic products as regulated by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 to countries outside the EU.”

Today thankfully it is against the law in Europe for any beauty cosmetics to be tested on animals so it goes without saying that, as a European beauty brand, our range is cruelty-free. But maybe it doesn’t go without saying, as we hear some of you asking, what about mainland China where current regulation requires most imported European cosmetics to be tested on animals before they can be sold in China?

Well, we currently sell a small selection of our products via selected overseas e-commerce retailers in Hong Kong (off-shore retail being exempt from cosmetic animal testing requirements), so increasingly the Chinese are buying from online stores in Hong Kong and further afield in order to get hold of European green beauty brands.

The term ‘cosmetics’ in China is considered to be skincare, makeup, perfume, hair care, sun care, nail care, deodorants and whitening products. Strangely enough toothpastes and bars of soap are exempt, and they are considered household items rather than cosmetics, and as such they are not required to be tested on animals. So Weleda toothpaste and soaps may be found in China. But rest assured they are still cruelty-free.

You can find more information about our standards and ethics on our website, here’s the link:

http://www.weleda.co.uk/quality/certifications-and-labels/page/certifications-labels


July 2023