Revlon Keeps Their Required by Law Animal Testing Stance

Revlon Keeps Their Required by Law Animal Testing Stance

Recently Revlon announced that they may be exiting China. Many were under the impression that this change meant Revlon would stop sales in China and become a cruelty free brand. After doing more digging, that appears to be simply a business move that would likely not effect their animal testing policy. Their plans are to cut operating costs and staff at beauty counters. In China, Revlon is mostly available at beauty counters, but it can also be found in drugstores.

I emailed Revlon to find out if there was any sort of official statement that I could get about the brand leaving China, what that may apply to, and how it may effect their animal testing policy. I wrote to them asking if they were simply cutting jobs and costs in China but would remain in the market there. This is the reply that I received:

Thank you for your recent comments from our website and for taking the time to contact us.

To address your inquiry, the articles you have read are a true statement.

We appreciate your observations and comments about our product. Please be assured your comments have been noted and forwarded to the appropriate personnel.

Thank you for your interest in our products. We hope to continue to serve your cosmetic needs.

This reply seemed a bit confusing to me and it felt like they were not directly answering my questions. They confirmed that the articles about China are a true statement, but beyond that there was no information of value.

I replied to the email and asked for further clarification – most articles stated that they were cutting costs in China, so does that mean they will continue to sell there? I also asked if this decision effected their animal testing stance in any way. This is the reply that I received:

Thank you for your recent comments from our website and for voicing your concern to us.

Revlon does not conduct animal testing and has not done so since 1989. We comprehensively test all of our products using the most technologically advanced methods available to ensure they are both innovative and safe to use. We believe that women should have the opportunity to express themselves through makeup, so we sell our products in many markets around the world and as such, are subject to local rules and regulations. Regulatory authorities in a few countries conduct independent testing in order to satisfy their own mandatory registration requirements. Revlon complies with all regulations in the countries in which our products are sold, and supports the advancement of non-animal testing alternatives and methodologies in our industry.

Thank you for your interest in our company. If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to let us know.

While it is still unclear exactly how the Revlon announcement may effect their sales in China, the brand has not changed their stance on animal testing despite the announcement. This still leaves a lot of room for speculation as to what the brands business decision is and how it effects their sales.

From what I have been reading in articles by the press, it sounds if they are going to change their distribution method to be easily available in more stores. Their animal testing stance seems to be in line with this. However, without a statement from Revlon themselves it’s hard to know which direction the company is going in.

5 Comments

  1. Thanks for the update! That first email you got was a canned response besides that one sentence about the articles being true– word for word the same email I got from them when I told them the packaging on their lacquer balms are insufficient and prone to contaminating the product.

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