Dove and PETA: Together Against Animal Testing

Join us in taking action against cruelty

Help Dove and PETA take a stance against animal testing in cosmetics and take PETA’s pledge to only buy products from companies that don’t test on animals, and have a global policy against animal testing.

Dove believes in using science not animals

Dove does not test on animals and is committed to ending animal testing for cosmetics everywhere. Since the mid-1980s we have used non-animal methods to ensure the safety of Dove products.

Dove has been globally approved by the animal rights organisation PETA, making us one of the largest beauty brands in the world to receive PETA approval. 

Thanks to modern, human-relevant, non-animal scientific alternatives, animal tests are no longer necessary – and that is why we’ve used non-animal approaches to assess the safety of our products and ingredients for over 40 years. Safety scientists have been developing and using these for decades. We say use science, not animals. 

Dove have joined forces with the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

We have joined forces with PETA to create a Limited-Edition pack design, available on some of our bestselling products, to celebrate our joint commitment to help bring an end to animal testing. Through our efforts we aim to raise awareness of our support for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics and invite others to join us.

As part of our celebratory Limited-Edition campaign, Dove has made a donation to PETA to help further their important work.

Fighting animal testing in the EU

In 2021, we joined forces with PETA, Cruelty Free Europe (CFE), Humane Society International, Eurogroup for Animals and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) and brands across our industry to take action in the European Union (EU). Over 1.2 million people signed the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to save cruelty-free cosmetics, calling on the European Commission to fully enforce its animal testing ban for ingredients used in cosmetics. 

After decades of campaigning by everyday people, animal protection organisations and companies, the EU banned testing cosmetic products on animals in 2004. It put a stop to tests for cosmetics ingredients in 2009 – and finally, in 2013, the EU prohibited the sale of all cosmetics products that had been tested on animals. 

Animal testing for cosmetics in the UK

Animal testing of cosmetics in the UK had been banned in 1998, but in 2020 it became clear that the EU and UK bans were under threat. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) was requesting new animal tests on ingredients widely used in cosmetics under chemicals legislation known as the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. The UK government also appeared to be allowing testing of ingredients used in cosmetics in UK laboratories. Dove will not be associated with any new animal tests, and we have  included non-animal data in  ingredient dossiers.

These tests undermine the purpose of the ban – to bring safe cosmetics to market without requiring new tests on animals. It is unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of animals could be subjected to cruel and unnecessary testing when alternatives are available and can be used. 

Head to PETA UK’s website to take the cruelty-free pledge, and help us on our mission to keep cosmetics cruelty-free in the UK.