Is Caudalie Cruelty-Free?
No. Caudalie is sadly NOT cruelty-free; Caudalie skin and body care products are tested on animals and sold in mainland China where animal testing is required by law.
Caudalie’s Animal Testing Policy
It seems as though Caudalie has made some changes to their animal testing statement since the original publication of this post (Jan 2018). But please note that Caudalie’s animal testing policy has not changed, they have just worded their statement differently.
Caudalie is still not considered to be a cruelty-free brand because their products are still tested on animals when required by law in mainland China.
Caudalie claims “in China, where our products are distributed, authorities may impose random animal testing.” This indicates that Caudalie products are still sold in mainland China in 2019 where animal testing is required by law for all imported cosmetics.
Therefore Caudalie is not cruelty-free.
If you were curious, below is Caudalie’s animal testing statement in 2018.
I also reached out to Caudalie in 2018 to inquire about their animal testing policy and was provided with the following statement:
“Caudalie is against animal testing. Therefore, we have never tested and will never test any ingredient or product on animals.
Since it was founded in 1995 Caudalie has always observed the founding principles of its « Cosm’ethics », which include respecting the skin and protection of the environment and the animals, while at the same time offering effective formulas.
It is indeed true that we sell our products in China. Unfortunately, no cosmetic brand selling its products in China can obtain a certificate from the Chinese authorities guaranteeing that tests have not been performed on animals in China by the Chinese government.”
Caudalie is Not Cruelty-free
All imported cosmetics in Mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals before they’re allowed to sell in their country. Many cruelty-free brands have chosen to opt out of selling in China for this very reason.
Sadly, the same can’t be said about Caudalie as they have chosen to not “deny the population of effective, natural and luxurious products” and in other words, Caudalie has chosen to sell their products in mainland China with the full knowledge and understanding that their products must be tested on animals by the Chinese authorities.
Is Caudalie Vegan?
Because Caudalie products and ingredients are tested on animals, when required by law, Caudalie is not considered to be vegan by our standards.
But since there is no standard or legal definition for the “vegan” label in cosmetics, Caudalie can claim that most of their products are “vegan” and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients (with the exception of 5 of their products that contain honey). This is misleading because Caudalie is not even cruelty-free as they do test on animals when required by law and therefore, they shouldn’t be classifying their products as being vegan.
This is another real-life example of a brand claiming their products are “vegan” but not cruelty-free, but we wouldn’t consider Caudalie to be vegan or cruelty-free.
There is a difference between cosmetics labeled as “cruelty-free” and “vegan” which you can find more information and a thorough explanation about the difference in this post.
Cruelty-free Alternatives to Caudalie
There are plenty of cruelty-free and natural skincare alternatives to Caudalie, here are some of my personal cruelty-free recommendations:
- Tata Harper
- Herbivore
- Drunk Elephant (owned by Shiseido)
- OSEA
- Juice Beauty
Samantha
February 25, 2019By PETAs standards, the brand would not be considered cruelty free, however the brand itself is cruelty free. By legally being allowed to state on their boxes ‘DO NOT TEST ON ANIMALS’ this makes them cruelty free. There are many forms of what defines cruelty free and you are misleading in this post.
Vicky Ly
February 25, 2019Actually, the FDA warns the general public to be aware of products that claim to be “cruelty-free” and “not tested on animals” because the FDA does NOT regulate or have a LEGAL definition for products that claim to be “cruelty-free” and “not tested on animals”
Here’s a snippet of what’s on the FDA’s website:
“Consumers sometimes ask about use of claims such as “Cruelty-Free” or “Not Tested on Animals” on cosmetic labeling.
Some cosmetic companies promote their products with claims of this kind in their labeling or advertising. The unrestricted use of these phrases by cosmetic companies is possible because there are no legal definitions for these terms.”
Source: https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/labeling/claims/ucm2005202.htm
So, Caudalie can legally label and call their products “CRUELTY-FREE” or “NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS” or “WE DON’T TEST OUR PRODUCTS ON ANIMALS” or any other “forms” you’re referring to that is suggesting a brand to be cruelty-free… but the FDA has no jurisdiction or legal obligation to say who can and cannot use “DO NOT TEST ON ANIMALS” on their packaging.
I’m stating the facts in this post. Caudalie has admitted their products ARE sold in Mainland China and even Caudalie themselves, are stating the fact that, “no cosmetic brand selling its products in China can obtain a certificate from the Chinese authorities guaranteeing that tests have not been performed on animals in China by the Chinese government.“
If, after reading my post and knowing these facts and you still wish to call Caudalie “cruelty-free” under your own definitions, then that’s totally fine. You can define “cruelty-free” however YOU like but to our standards, Caudalie cannot be considered cruelty-free.
Izabela
February 15, 2019Thank You for this information it was very useful!.