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Is Charlotte Tilbury Cruelty-Free?
Sept 2021 Update! Charlotte Tilbury is now officially certified cruelty-free by Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny Program.
We previously weren’t sure what to make of Charlotte Tilbury’s cruelty-free status while they had testers of some of their products in China, although they weren’t physically being sold in stores. But now that the company is Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny approved, I feel comfortable classifying Charlotte Tilbury as being *Cruelty-Free now that there is a third-party verifying and looking into their cruelty-free policy.
As of September 2021, we have decided to move Charlotte Tilbury from ‘Grey Area’ to *Cruelty-Free.
Continue reading if you want a walk-through of Charlotte Tilbury’s animal testing policy.
Charlotte Tilbury’s Animal Testing Policy
Below is what was stated on Charlotte Tilbury’s website:
Before 2020, Charlotte Tilbury was listed in our Brand Directory as a cruelty-free brand. As Charlotte Tilbury confirmed none of their products, ingredients, or formulations are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
But that all changed in late 2019/early 2020. Here’s what happened:
Is Charlotte Tilbury Sold in China?
At the beginning of 2020, news broke that Charlotte Tilbury had testers of their products in a pop-up store in mainland China.
Chinese customers weren’t able to buy Charlotte Tilbury products at this store location. But instead were directed to order and purchase Charlotte Tilbury products online on their website or on TMall Global.
Charlotte Tilbury Sold Online Only
Cosmetics sold online in China do not require animal testing. So Charlotte Tilbury can sell their products online and ship directly to customer’s homes in China without pre-market animal testing.
Charlotte Tilbury Not Sold in Stores in China
Again, it’s worth repeating here: Charlotte Tilbury is not selling any of its products in physical stores in mainland China. Some of their products were for “display purposes only” in mainland China stores. They’ve confirmed this many times stating,
“I can confirm that our products are not sold in stores in mainland China!”
Pre-Market Testing
Because they’re not actually selling anything at that pop-up store location, Charlotte Tilbury did not have to register their products for pre-market approval. Therefore they were able to bypass China’s pre-market animal testing requirements.
Post-Market Testing
What about post-market animal testing? Historically, in the event of a customer complaint, non-routine post-market testing may be issued and authorized by officials. This is where they’ll pull products off the store shelves and conduct independent tests.
Currently, there are conflicting opinions about whether post-market testing for cosmetics in China is still being done on animal test subjects. Some experts say it’s unlikely and hasn’t been done in years.
Update! Charlotte Tilbury is Leaping Bunny Certified!
We previously weren’t sure what to make of Charlotte Tilbury’s cruelty-free status while they had testers of their products in Chinese stores. But now that the company is Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny approved, I feel comfortable classifying Charlotte Tilbury as being *Cruelty-Free now that there is a third-party verifying and looking into their cruelty-free commitments.
As a result, I have decided to move Charlotte Tilbury from Grey Area brand to a *Cruelty-Free brand.
*Charlotte Tilbury Owned by Puig
In June 2020, Charlotte Tilbury announced that Puig would own a majority stake in the brand. And Puig is NOT a cruelty-free corporation because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.
It’s your choice whether you want to support or boycott cruelty-free brands owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this. I encourage you to do what you’re comfortable with, but I think it’s important to disclose that Puig owns a majority stake in Charlotte Tilbury.
Charlotte Tilbury’s Ethical Mica Mining Policy
Mica is a mineral that’s used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.
Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.
So I asked Charlotte Tilbury if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,
“I can confirm that all of our mica is ethically sourced, and our manufacturing partners regularly audit their suppliers to ensure compliance
Mica from India is an extremely small percentage of the mica used in our products, with the majority of it coming from North and South America.“
0 thoughts on “Charlotte Tilbury (Puig)”
Hello, I just wanted to leave a remark concerning Charlotte Tilbury cosmetics. Although the cosmetics are not tested on animals and many products are vegan friendly I wanted to let you know that the founder, Charlotte Tilbury, purchases, wears, and promotes fur. I don’t think I am able to upload a photograph in this comment box, but you can see for yourself on The official Charlotte Tilbury Instagram page that she is photographed wearing a lamb skin coat with genuine Fox fur trim. The hypocrisy and audacity of promoting real fur is outrageous!
Lip Lustre Portobello Girl contains carmine (CI75470), and is therefore NOT vegan, and not hypo-allergenic for those who are allergic to cochineal.
hey i wanted to know if charotte tilbury cosmetics is certified as crueltry free by any organization like peta or leaping bunny?
charlotte tilbury sells on “tian mao internationa (天貓國際)l” which is the international version of “tian mao” in china… which makes me wonder if that counts as “selling in china” ?? since they technically are selling to consumers in china……… (i read that “tian mao international” is usually based in hong kong/macau/taiwan… but i still kinda have my doubts)
They are sold in China, just not at Charlotte Tilbury stores. Def not cruelty free
I believe they briefly had testers of their products in a pop-up shop in China, their products weren’t officially being sold at that shop. However, once the cruelty-free community was made aware of this and expressed their concerns about the risk of CT products being tested on animals, the brand decided to pull their testers from those stores. My most recent exchange with them, they told me their products are not available to test or buy in stores in mainland China.
Hi there,
I’m a litte confused about this answer I’ve got from Charlotte Tilbury when I asked them about there cruelty free status..
“Gemma (Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Ltd)
Jul 14, 2020, 10:00 AM GMT+1
Hi, There
Thank you for contacting Charlotte Tilbury.
Together with our suppliers do not test our products or ingredients on animals. We also do not use any third parties to carry any out of those tests. Our products are available in China under the cross-border e-commerce model which allows the importation and sale of foreign cosmetic brands to Chinese consumers without pre-market approvals.
Post-market testing would only be required on the rare occurrence of a serious consumer safety concern. Charlotte Tilbury Beauty has worked closely with local advisors who have confirmed the brand should be notified of such a concern, in the first instance. We would then withdraw the product if needed, rather than have it be subject to any animal testing.
If you require anything else at all please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best wishes,
Gemma”
It’s a little unclear in my opinion.. Or I just don’t trust the solution with the lokal advicors.