The short answer: No, Schwarzkopf is not entirely cruelty free.
The long answer: Schwarzkopf is a German brand that sells hair care, hair styling, and hair colouring products across the globe. It is owned by the multinational company Henkel, which has shared their commitment against animal testing. The company declares:
“We do not test our cosmetic products on animals. This applies to both the products for home use available in the market and professional products used in hair salons.
We have not carried out any tests on animals for our cosmetic products since the late 1980s, around 15 years before a respective EU ban came into effect in 2004. What is more, since March 2013, no cosmetic ingredient may be tested on animals in the EU. Naturally, we comply with this obligation.”
Henkel currently sells Schwarzkopf products in China. The company addressed the matter by saying, “China still tests certain cosmetic products from our assortment on animals to obtain market registration. We are working with national and European associations to convince the authorities in China to cease testing cosmetic products on animals. We are fortunately starting to see signs of acceptance of alternative methods. For example, the Chinese authorities are allowing a simplified registration procedure without animal testing for locally manufactured cosmetic products, such as shampoos or shower gels. This change has already helped our locally produced products and we welcome it greatly, seeing it as confirmation of our efforts.”
China is known for doing pre- and post-distribution tests on animals. Though Schwarzkopf has eliminated the need for testing locally produced items, authorised third parties are still allowed to randomly conduct tests on their products. They can also do tests if there are customer complaints. Until Schwarzkopf stops selling in China or China stops testing on animals, Schwarzkopf cannot be considered completely cruelty free.
Discover which brands are cruelty free by exploring our growing list.
References:
Beauty Without Bunnies: Schwarzkopf
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