Crest is NOT Cruelty-Free!

Crest allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law.

Crest’s Animal Testing Policy

While researching to learn more about Crest’s cruelty-free status, I couldn’t find the brand’s official animal testing policy anywhere on its website.

So I reached out to Crest to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test their products/ingredients on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing.

And Crest responded by saying:

“Thank you for reaching out to Crest. We appreciate you taking the time to write to us and I will help you today with the information.

We do not test our products on animals anywhere in the world unless required by law and we are working hard to make animal testing of all consumer products obsolete.  We are a proud supporter of #BeCrueltyFree. We have invested more than $420 million in developing non-animal testing methods and have advocated for their approval by policy makers around the world. Today, we use more than 50 non-animal alternatives, half of which were invented or co-invented by P&G. We will continue working with partners like the Humane Society International and the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to promote the development of new alternatives and advocate for their public use and adoption to eliminate animal testing.”

Based on Crest’s email response, the company states it makes an exception to allow its products to be tested on animals if specifically required by law.

Policies stating, “unless required by law,” usually imply the company is selling its products in mainland China. That’s because cosmetics (which includes toothpaste) sold in stores in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals.

And that is the case for Crest, their toothpaste is sold in mainland China, therefore they must consent to have their products/ingredients tested on animals upon registration.

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 then they will refuse to sell their products under those conditions.

Unfortunately, Crest state they will allow their products and ingredients to be tested on animals if the law requires it including when selling in China. For those reasons, Crest is NOT cruelty-free.

It should also be noted that Crest states they work with Humane Society International and PETA. However, Humane Society is NOT a cruelty-free certification, they are a non-profit animal welfare organization. In addition, Crest is NOT certified cruelty-free by PETA.

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, and by any third parties, including when required by law.

See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Crest already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is Crest Certified Cruelty-Free?

Crest is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.

Because Crest is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is looking into or substantiating Crest’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

Is Crest Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?

Yes. Crest is owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G), a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2022.

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, Crest is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, P&G.

Is Crest Cruelty-Free?

To sum up, by choosing to sell in mainland China, Crest must have its products tested on animals. Therefore, we would NOT consider Crest to be a cruelty-free brand.

Currently, Crest is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.

Is Crest Vegan?

Crest claims some of its toothpaste is free of glycerin and do not contain animal by-products, however, since we do not consider Crest to be cruelty-free as their products are tested on animals when required by law, we also wouldn’t consider anything sold or manufactured by Crest to be vegan.

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 Crest

Looking to switch to cruelty-free toothpaste? Here are some cruelty-free brands to check out:

• Hello *owned by Colgate
• JASON
• Desert Essence
• Davids

Or check out our Guide to Cruelty-Free & Vegan Toothpaste!