Stop Cosmetics Company From Lying About Animal Testing

By Sasha Geffen

Target: Reinold Geiger, founder and CEO of cosmetics company L’Occitane

Goal: Issue a public statement admitting to paying third party facilities to test L’Occitane products on animals

Recently, many cosmetics products have been losing their leaping bunnies–a logo issued by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics that indicates that a product has not been in any way tested on animals. The reason? Cosmetics giants that wish to expand into China must, by Chinese law, test their products on animals before selling them to the public. Despite having recently moved into China, the high-profile cosmetics company L’Occitane still issued a statement to the public insisting that it does not test products on animals. Tell the founder and CEO of the company to stop lying to the public and come clean on his company’s new animal testing practices.

A press statement from L’Occitane claims that the brand “does not and never has tested its product on animals.” This sly bit of misdirection is factually correct; no employees of L’Occitane have themselves sprayed a rabbit in the eyes with perfume or smeared lipstick on the skin of a dog. However, the company has outsourced the testing of their products on animals to third party facilities in China, ensuring that each product passes standards imposed by Chinese law.

While L’Occitane may not perform animal testing itself, the company is certainly funding the cruel and inhumane tests that allow its products to be sold in China. The recent statement claiming that the company does not engage in animal testing is a thinly-veiled lie and a feeble attempt to keep vegan and animal-conscious customers purchasing L’Occitane cosmetics. Insist that the company clarify its statement on animal testing and admit to paying third parties to conduct tests on its behalf.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Geiger,

While L’Occitane once proudly bore the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’s symbol of cruelty-free production practices, your recent decision to expand into China has rendered your company incapable of manufacturing products humanely. Despite the fact that L’Occitane pays third party facilities in China to test cosmetics on animals, your company recently released a statement claiming that it ”does not and never has tested its product on animals.”

Such a statement is a blatant attempt at manipulating vegan and animal rights-conscious consumers into purchasing your products. Whether your company owns the testing facilities or not, L’Occitane products are forced upon innocent animals before they are sold to the public. Your customers deserve to know the truth about L’Occitane cosmetics. I demand that you release a follow-up statement clarifying your former remarks and come clean about L’Occitane’s recent record of animal testing.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

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Photo credit: Matt Trostle via Flickr.