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Is Biotene Cruelty-Free?
☠️ Biotène is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Biotène allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law.
Biotène’s Animal Testing Policy
When asking, does Biotene test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Biotène’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.
While researching to learn more about Biotène’s cruelty-free status, I couldn’t find the brand’s official animal testing policy anywhere on its website.
So I reached out to Biotène to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test, not just their finished products but their ingredients on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing (like mainland China).
And Biotène responded saying,
“We are pleased to respond to your inquiry regarding our policies on animal testing. We appreciate and understand your concerns in this important matter. We are dedicated to developing novel therapeutic agents and drugs for use in the prevention, management and cure of human ailments and diseases.
However, since we, Haleon are an OTC (over-the-counter) organization, most of the products we market are unlikely to be new chemical entities. Most of our products’ ingredients have a well-established medicinal use with recognized efficacy and an acceptable level of safety as detailed in published literature. Therefore, animal testing would be largely unnecessary.
Our policy is not to conduct animal tests unless we are developing new products and are required by regulatory authorities to substantiate product safety using new ingredients whose safety has not been established. Then, animal tests would only be undertaken to ascertain that the product has therapeutic benefits and there was no alternative to animal tests.
We support and participate in an ongoing program to develop alternatives to the use of animals in safety testing, and ensure the humane treatment of laboratory animals. We are alert to all developments and are eager to implement alternative testing that is accepted by scientific, legal and regulatory experts.
In summary, we are very sensitive to this issue. We take seriously our obligation to respect animal life and will continue to support efforts to develop alternative testing methods.
Furthermore, please note that Biotene is not marketed in China.”
Based on the response I received from Biotène, the company admits to allowing its new products/ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law.
Truly cruelty-free brands will never allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals. Cruelty-free companies have a policy where if the law requires them to test on animals, they will refuse to sell their products under those conditions.
Unfortunately, Biotène states they allow their products and ingredients to be tested on animals if the law requires it. For those reasons, Biotène is NOT cruelty-free.
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Cruelty-Free Policies
At ethical elephant, we always assess a company’s cruelty-free policy using our Cruelty-Free Checklist. This ensures no animal testing was performed by the brand itself, its suppliers, or by any third parties, including when required by law.
See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Biotène allows its products/ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.
Is Biotène Certified Cruelty-Free?
Biotène is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.
Since Biotène is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is substantiating or auditing Biotène’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.
Is Biotène Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?
Yes. Biotène is owned by Haleon, a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2023.
Some cruelty-free consumers may choose to purchase and support cruelty-free brands owned by animal-tested parent corporations as they hope it will convince the parent company to become cruelty-free.
But in this case, Biotène is NOT cruelty-free, and neither is its parent corporation, Haleon.
Does Biotène Test on Animals?
To wrap up, Biotène allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law. Therefore, we would NOT consider Biotène to be a cruelty-free brand.
Currently, Biotène is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.
Is Biotène Vegan?
❌ Biotène is NOT vegan. Biotène claims to offer some products that are suitable for vegetarians and don’t contain animal-derived ingredients, but Biotène engages in animal testing in some capacity, so we wouldn’t consider any Biotène products vegetarian or vegan at this time.
Below is a snippet of the email response I received from Biotène when I asked if their oral rinse and toothpaste are vegan:
“Following a review of the product formulation and detailed supplier documentation, Haleon can confirm that the Biotene Original Oral Rinse (Original) Solution and Biotene Fresh Mint Toothpaste do not contain animal-derived ingredients as direct components. Furthermore, animal-derived ingredients are not used in the manufacture of any of the ingredients used in these products. They are considered suitable for vegetarians. However, please note that Haleon does not formally declare the products as vegan, since the individual ingredients have not all been confirmed as vegan by our suppliers.
If you are unsure whether a product is suitable for you, ask your doctor for advice.”
In order for products to be considered vegan by ethical elephant’s standards, the products and their ingredients must not be tested on animals anywhere in the world. Also, they must not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Biotène
Looking to switch to cruelty-free mouthwash? Here are some cruelty-free brands to check out:
- Hello *owned by Colgate
- JASON
- Desert Essence
- Tom’s of Maine *owned by Colgate
