Valentino Beauty (L’Oreal)

Last Updated: March 4, 2024

How Ethical Is Valentino Beauty (L’Oreal)?

Valentino is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Valentino allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law including when selling in China. We also wouldn’t consider any Valentino products vegan at this time.

Ethical Analysis

Is Valentino cruelty-free or vegan? We’ve got the answers here! Read below to learn more about Valentino’s policies.
Valentino is NOT Cruelty-Free. Valentino engages in animal testing by allowing its products to be animal-tested.
Valentino Beauty does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Valentino engages in animal testing in some capacity, we wouldn’t consider any Valentino Fragrances products vegan anyways.

Valentino Beauty (L’Oreal)

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Is Valentino Cruelty-Free?

☠️ Valentino is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Valentino Beauty & Fragrances allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, including when selling in stores in mainland China.

Valentino’s Animal Testing Policy

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

To assess whether brands are cruelty-free, I always start with the company’s official animal testing policy on their website.

However, I couldn’t find Valentino’s animal testing statement anywhere on its website.

So I reached out to Valentino Beauty to ask for more information. 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 the company responded by saying,

“Thank you for contacting Valentino.

At L’Oréal, we care for animal welfare and do not test on animals. We are for a world without animal testing. The L’Oréal Group, which includes Valentino, has always made our consumers’ health and safety an absolute priority. Since 1989, we have not tested the safety of our products on animals, 14 years before regulations required us to do so.

There are effective non-animal ways to ensure the safety of cosmetic products. For example, over 40 years ago we led the development of human-reconstructed skin that is more accurate for analyzing how cosmetic ingredients and products will behave on human skin. We continue to pioneer new non-animal methods and technologies.

For more information, please visit: https://inside-our-products.loreal.com/question-animal-testing-and-alternative-methods”

Based on their response, Valentino Beauty has the same animal testing policy as L’Oreal.

But what’s not included in Valentino’s response is L’Oreal’s full animal testing policy, which also includes the following:

Certain health authorities may nevertheless decide to conduct animal tests themselves for certain cosmetic products, as it is still the case in China. L’Oréal is the most active company working alongside the Chinese authorities and scientists for over 10 years to have alternative testing methods recognized, and permit the cosmetic regulation to evolve towards a total and definite elimination of animal testing. Thanks to this, since 2014, certain products manufactured and sold in China like shampoo, body wash or certain make-up products are no longer tested on animals.”

L’Oreal allows some of its products to be tested on animals when certain health authorities require it.

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.

For example, some imported cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by Chinese laws to be tested on animals upon registration. Therefore, truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell in China in order to remain committed to their no animal testing policy.

Is Valentino Sold in China?

According to this article, Valentino Beauty & Fragrances are sold in stores in mainland China.

But Doesn’t China No Longer Test on Animals?

With the recent changes to China’s animal testing laws, cosmetic companies can now export and sell some of their cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet ALL of the following preconditions first.

  • ONLY sell ‘general’ cosmetics (like makeup, skincare, haircare, nail polish, and perfumes)
  • must NOT sell any ‘special’ cosmetics like sunscreens, hair dye, hair perming, or other cosmetics claiming new efficacy
  • must NOT sell products designed for infants or children
  • must NOT sell products that contain a ‘New Cosmetic Ingredient’
  • AND if post-market testing is required, then the company must have a policy in place where it will RECALL its products rather than allow its products to be tested on animals

Also, products must meet ONE of the following in order to avoid animal testing in China:

  • manufactured in China, or the final assembly is in China
  • if manufactured outside of China and then exported to China, companies must obtain the proper product safety certificates and documents

However, it’s not clear if Valentino has taken any steps to meet the above preconditions to avoid animal testing while selling in China.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Valentino) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2023.

Because Valentino has decided to sell in mainland China stores, they must consent and pay to have their products tested on animals. That’s why most cosmetics brands selling in mainland China cannot be considered cruelty-free in 2023.

Although Valentino may not be conducting these animal tests themselves, they knowingly allow Chinese authorities to test their products on animals in order to sell in China.

For those reasons, we would not consider Valentino to be cruelty-free by our standards.

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Is Valentino Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

Since Valentino is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is substantiating or auditing Valentino’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

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

Yes. Valentino Beauty is owned by L’Oreal, 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, Valentino Beauty is NOT cruelty-free, and neither is its parent corporation, L’Oreal.

Does Valentino Test on Animals?

To wrap up, Valentino allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, including when selling in China. Therefore, we would NOT consider Valentino to be a cruelty-free brand.

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

Is Valentino Vegan?

Valentino is NOT vegan. Valentino Beauty does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Valentino engages in animal testing in some capacity, we wouldn’t consider any Valentino Fragrances products vegan anyways.

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Valentino

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

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