Yes, We're Cruelty-Free, But Here's Why

One of the most common questions we get is around cruelty-free. To get this out of the way, no, we do not test on animals, but the claim "cruelty-free" and using that as a marketing tool makes us a little uncomfortable... why? It's not a regulated term. And, if you're a brand that's launched in the last few years it would be very strange to test on animals. It's not common anymore thanks to regions like Europe fully banning it on March 11th, 2013 and consumer advocacy. More and more suppliers do not test on animals so, thankfully, it's relatively easy to source and supply ingredients that aren't tested on animals.  

The main way brands are not cruelty free is legacy (they tested initially on the product in the 80s) or if they sell in countries like China which require animal testing. We are uncomfortable maligning brands that tested ingredients in the 80s but now don't. When you look at selling in China, while these tests are not conducted by the brand, cruelty free advocates note that a brand shouldn't sell in China and that's the preferred option. Thanks to lobbying from consumers and large brands who dedicated resources to shift this, the laws in China are changing. This is a good thing. 

We don't use animal-based ingredients because we Dieux think brands should be accessible to vegans (and there are so many great ingredients that mimic animal by-products). Not using animals in beauty products is something we care about and do not formulate with. We also don't test on animals but that puts us in the same boat as most new brands. 

Generally speaking, we don't like free-from lists as it implies we are *special* for being free-from or that the ingredient/practice in question is dangerous (see paraben-free). In this case, we do list it, but, we need to give more context. We are a newer brand so it would be strange to test on animals, we test on consenting humans.