TRESemmé (Unilever)

Last Updated: January 24, 2023

How Ethical Is TRESemmé (Unilever)?

Make a positive impact by supporting companies with the same values and ethics as what matters most to you. To navigate and find ethical brands, here's a summary of TRESemmé's ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is TRESemmé cruelty-free or vegan? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on TRESemmé’s policies.
None of TRESemmé’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals anywhere in the world. However, TRESemmé is owned by Unilever, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.
TRESemmé no longer sells its products in mainland China stores. Therefore TRESemmé is not required to test on animals according to China’s current animal testing laws.
TRESemmé does not currently offer any vegan products.

About TRESemmé (Unilever)

TRESemmé provides professional-quality hair care products.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS MADE IN: Europe
PRODUCTS: Hair Care
CERTIFICATIONS: PETA-Certified

TRESemmé (Unilever)

This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Is TRESemmé Cruelty-Free?

🐰 TRESemmé is a *cruelty-free brand. None of TRESemme’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. TRESemmé has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist.

Does TRESemmé Test on Animals?

When asking, does TRESemmé test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of TRESemmé’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.

In our research, we discovered the following:

  • ✓ TRESemmé confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
  • ✓ TRESemmé confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
  • ✓ TRESemmé confirmed they do not allow or sell their products under conditions where animal testing is required by law

By meeting all of our Cruelty-Free Criteria, TRESemmé is a *cruelty-free brand by our standards.

*TRESemmé is owned by Unilever, a corporation that is NOT cruelty-free because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.

The decision is yours 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. Do what you’re comfortable with. I just thought it was important to disclose that Unilever owns TRESemmé.

What is TRESemmé’s Animal Testing Policy?

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on TRESemmé’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

TRESemmé has confirmed they’re no longer selling in stores in China. The brand now only sells its products online to China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

With the current changes to China’s animal testing laws, some cosmetics sold in China can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, without meeting those conditions, animal testing is still legally required for most cosmetics sold in China in 2023.

Is TRESemmé Certified Cruelty-Free?

TRESemmé is certified cruelty-free by PETA, but NOT certified by Leaping Bunny.

Cruelty-Free Policies 2023

Just because a brand claims it is ‘Cruelty-Free,’ doesn’t always mean that’s the case.

That’s because there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.’ It can mean different things to different people. But Cruelty-Free is generally used to imply no animal testing. More specifically, the ingredients, formulation, or finished product are not tested on animals at any stage of product development.

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 any third parties.

How We Assess Cruelty-Free Policies

Since 2015, the start of my blog, I’ve been emailing companies asking about their animal testing policies and cruelty-free commitments.

And based on the responses I receive from companies, I’ll research to find any supporting facts needed before concluding whether the brand should be classified as “Cruelty-Free,” “Animal-Tested,” or “Grey Area – Unclear Policies.”

☕️ Every week, I continue to reach out to new brands while trying my best to keep current brands updated. If you found any of my posts or guides helpful, consider Buying Me A Coffee! I would greatly appreciate it! ❤️

What about Vegan?

Just because something is called Cruelty-Free, doesn’t always mean it’s Vegan. And vice versa.

Cruelty-Free only refers to no animal testing, while Vegan means formulated without animal products.

Some brands are Cruelty-Free, but not Vegan.

And some are Vegan, but not Cruelty-Free.

Another important distinction to know is, Vegan in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand is 100% Vegan or a specific product is Vegan.

Is TRESemmé Vegan?

⭐️ TRESemmé is NOT vegan. TRESemmé does not claim any of its products are vegan.

The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on TRESemmé’s website:

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But Vegan is generally used to mean formulated without animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products in cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, snail mucus, beeswax, honey, pearl or silk-derived ingredients, animal-based glycerin, keratin, and squalene.

There are plant-based and synthetic alternatives to animal-derived ingredients. But unless a brand explicitly labels its ingredients or product as Vegan, it’s often difficult to know with certainty whether a product is vegan just by reading the ingredient list.

So it’s best to ask the company and manufacturers to ensure the ingredients they chose were from non-animal sources.

Where are TRESemme’s products made?

When I asked TRESemme where their products are made, they responded stating,

“Thank you for contacting us today about where TRESemmé products are manufactured. We do not provide details on where Unilever factories are located due to safety reasons. However, we can tell you that their products are manufactured within Europe”


I hope this article helped you to understand TRESemme’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!

If you found this helpful, consider Buying Me a Coffee. So that I can continue to keep this site running and updated.

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What do you think

14 thoughts on “TRESemmé (Unilever)”

  1. I’m so tired of brands using misleading text to imply that animal testing isn’t done, that the brand isn’t doing it itself, and that they’re not responsible for it. Animal testing isn’t required by law in the USA, but they make it sound like it is required ‘in a very small amount’ when in fact they’re choosing to sell in countries that require animal testing. Good on you for pulling out the facts!

    1. YES! I totally agree! =)

      Whether these companies are testing 99% or 1% of their products/ingredients on animals.. it’s STILL called animal testing!! It drives me crazy when companies try to downplay it and claim only a small portion is tested on animals.

  2. Companies are so tricky with their wording! I can’t stand it. I had someone tell me L’Oréal was cruelty free once and they genuinely believed that they were due to the way their testing stance is worded. It makes me so angry! We need regulations for the term “Cruelty free”!

    1. I know!! It’s so frustrating! Even when you personally reach out to some of these companies.. they’ll have some sort of cut and paste response that they tell customers whenever someone asks about their animal testing policy!

      It’s also kind of hard to tell who is actually believing their words versus who is just using it as an excuse to keep buying from them. Because I know that despite my article disputing all of Tresemme’s cruelty-free claims.. there’s gonna be a handful of people that aren’t willing to accept the truth and will continue to buy their products =(

      Ahh.. I dream for a cruelty-free world!

  3. it can be so difficult to know for sure if a company is cruelty-free. for individuals not well versed in understanding the language, what to look for, and the ways companies can disguise their animal testing policies, it’s like reading a different language. i can understand how kalyn could be ok with being sponsored by tresemme, especially if she is not 100% committed to using cruelty-free products.

    on a side note, i find it humorous when people claim to love tresemme because, back in the day before i was a conscious consumer and my mom would buy whatever was on sale at the supermarket, i freakin hated tresemme- the smell was terrible and it made my hair look dry and frizzy. maybe their product has improved in the last 15 years…

    1. exactly! there are so many people (like Kalyn) who are honestly trying to make informed cruelty-free choices but get these ambiguous responses from companies and misled into believing they don’t test or condone animal testing when that’s far from the truth.

      I know exactly what you mean.. I grew up using Tresemme too! because my mom always bought it and I’d just take it off her table haha. Man, that stuff was awful to use.

  4. Bravo!! I’m fed up with people buying all the propaganda about certain brands being cruelty free when their parent companies are not! The money ends up in the same place, so no difference.

    Thanks, Vicky, for speaking the truth =)

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