Animal testing for cosmetic products has been banned in the EU since 2004 and, for ingredients in cosmetics products, since 2013; however, this is not the case in most other countries around the world.
As a major leading brand sold around the world, Dove has taken a global stand and gone one step further. Dove has enacted a policy prohibiting any animal tests anywhere in the world: no projects are approved internally if they were to result in a requirement for animal testing of Dove products or ingredients anywhere.
In order to achieve this milestone, Dove has made key decisions on how and what products it sells in countries where animal testing may still be a mandatory requirement, such as China. All new products Dove will launch in China in the future will not be subject to animal testing by Chinese authorities.
Dove has long shown a commitment against animal testing: since the mid-1980s, Dove has not tested (nor commissioned others to test) its products on animals, nor tested (nor commissioned others to test) any ingredients which are contained in its products since 2010, which was more than two years ahead of the EU animal testing marketing ban.
As a global brand, Dove’s certification by PETA reinforces its commitment to permanently end tests on animals everywhere in the world.
Unilever has been developing non-animal approaches for product safety testing for over 30 years. Unilever is supporting the call for a global animal testing ban for cosmetics because it wants to see regulatory change as soon as possible. Unilever’s collaboration with Humane Society International will be a significant step forward towards this goal.
It is Unilever’s leadership in developing non-animal approaches and, globally, promoting their acceptance by regulatory authorities that has led to PETA recognising Unilever as a ‘company working for regulatory change’.
