The Body Shop

Last Updated: January 5, 2022

Is The Body Shop Cruelty-Free and Vegan?

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 The Body Shop’s ethics and initiatives.

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Ethical Analysis

Is The Body Shop cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on The Body Shop’s policies.
The Body Shop is cruelty-free. None of The Body Shop’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals anywhere in the world.
Not all of The Body Shop’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
The Body Shop is a Certified B Corporation, meeting the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

Some of The Body Shop’s Sustainability & Environmental Initiatives include:

  • Favor ingredients classified as readily biodegradable
  • Strive to ensure they have a low water footprint value and low eco-toxicity
  • Measure and aim to increase the levels of ingredients from natural origin, which is any ingredient that comes from plant matter formed from physical, fermentation and other low-impact processing methods
  • Ensure 100% of their natural ingredients are traceable and sustainably sourced
  • Use of ingredients from ‘Green Chemistry’ in which those that come from environmentally friendly processes and techniques, reducing the generation of chemicals which are hazardous to the environment
  • Working fairly with their farmers and suppliers and helping communities thrive through their Community Trade Program of sourcing quality ingredients and accessories from expert producers across the world and enriching economically vulnerable communities.
  • The Body Shop claims their mica is ethically sourced without child labor.
    The Body Shop’s products come in plastic packaging. Some of their eco-friendly packaging initiatives:
  • their focus is on using fewer plastic materials where possible
  • using more plant-based and recycled materials
  • they offer a Return.Recycle.Repeat scheme letting customers return their empties in stores to be recycled and repurposed
  • working towards making their packaging 100% recyclable (currently it’s at 68%)
  • using more post-consumer recycled materials, currently 25% is using PCR and their goal is 75% by 2022
  • offering a Refill scheme that promote a circular economy
  • launched their Community Fair Trade recycled plastic program
  • Learn more about The Body Shop’s eco-packaging initiatives here
  • About The Body Shop

    The first global beauty brand to fight against animal testing, The Body Shop provides cruelty-free skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products.
    COMPANY BASED IN: UK
    PRODUCTS: Skincare, Bath & Body Care, Makeup, Fragrances, Makeup Brushes, Hair Care
    CERTIFICATIONS: Leaping Bunny, Cruelty Free International, PETA-Certified

    The Body Shop

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

    You can find The Body Shop cruelty-free products at thebodyshop.com and Ulta.

    The Body Shop is Cruelty-Free

    The Body Shop has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals, nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.

    By our standards, we would consider The Body Shop to be Cruelty-Free.

    Note that The Body Shop used to be owned by L’Oreal, however, in 2017, L’Oreal sold The Body Shop to Natura Cosmeticos. And Natura is a cruelty-free corporation.

    Below is what’s currently stated on The Body Shop’s website:

    What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

    The Body Shop has confirmed they only sell their products online and not in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

    Additionally, The Body Shop does not currently trade in mainland China, in duty free stores or elsewhere. In June 2014, the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), responsible for regulating animal testing in cosmetics in China, abolished the mandatory requirement for animal testing for domestically-produced cosmetics. We publically welcomed this new approach by the Chinese authorities. We look forward to selling our products in China at some stage in the future.

    At the moment, The Body Shop is selling a range of its ethically-produced, cruelty-free products direct to Chinese customers through T-Mall, a Chinese online marketplace. Chinese customers, who have long bought The Body Shop’s products through stores in other markets are now able to buy our original, high quality products online and have them delivered to their own homes.

    Our Leaping Bunny-certified products remain cruelty-free through the Chinese government’s special Cross-Border E-Commerce arrangements, which is not subject to animal testing.

    As of May 1, 2021, some imported ordinary cosmetics can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, for the most part, animal testing is still legally required for most imported cosmetics in 2022.

    Who Owns The Body Shop?

    The Body Shop was previously acquired by L’Oreal in 2006, however, The Body Shop is no longer owned by L’Oreal.

    In 2017, L’Oreal sold The Body Shop to a Brazilian personal care cosmetics group called Natura.

    Is Natura Cruelty-Free? Yes, The Body Shop’s parent company, Natura is a cruelty-free corporation and is also Leaping Bunny certified.

    Cruelty-Free Policies

    Note that 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, and by any third parties.

    Also, note that Cruelty-Free and Vegan don’t always mean the same thing.

    The Body Shop is Not 100% Vegan

    ‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.

    In the case of The Body Shop, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

    News: The Body Shop announced the company will be removing all animal products from its formulations in order to become a fully vegan brand by the end of 2023.

    How to know which of The Body Shop’s products are vegan?

    All of The Body Shop’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. See below for an example.

    Which of The Body Shop Products is Vegan?

    As of 2021, I will no longer be regularly updating this list of The Body Shop’s vegan products as all of their vegan products are now clearly marked. Check their website for the most up-to-date and accurate information on which products are vegan or not.

    Below is a list of The Body Shop products that are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal by-products.

    You can also find out which of their products are vegan on The Body Shop’s website.

    Vegan Body Care – The Body Shop


    Vegan Skin Care – The Body Shop


    Vegan Hair Care – The Body Shop


    Vegan Makeup – The Body Shop


    Vegan Policies

    Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it’s usually used in the context to describe something that doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

    Some common animal products used 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 it’s sometimes 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’ve chosen to use were from non-animal sources.

    Ethical Mica Mining Policy

    Mica is a mineral that’s used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.

    Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

    So I asked The Body Shop if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

    “Mica (a mineral found in rocks) makes cosmetics sparkly and white. You may have heard some controversy about mica and unsafe working conditions – but don’t worry. We only buy from suppliers who don’t use child labour and ensure good safety standards.”


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

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    1 thought on “The Body Shop”

    1. Hi! I have been researching different companies for a geography presentation I have to do at school, and was really struggling to find anything that wasn’t overwhelming me with information. When my mum sent me this, it helped so much. Thanks!

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