This is a bit different than my
normal posts, but I think it is an important one. I know that when contacting
companies about their cruelty free status, sometimes they don’t get back to us,
or their reply is confusing. I have contacted The Balm on two separate occasions, and both times they got back to
me promptly and with an answer that I feel is pretty clear. It is my belief
that they do not test on animals. I believe that each person has to make her
own decision about how they want to read into company’s replies to these types of inquiries. I decided to post the exact wording of their
response to my inquiry so that you can decide for yourself. I have removed the name of the woman who
replied for privacy purposes.
This e-mail was
sent to me today at 1:34PM:
Hi Liza,
I can tell you for certain that theBalm does NOT have an office
in China, and we do not have any vendors in China that sell our products. Our
site ships internationally, including to China, but they are not tested on
animals here or in any other country. I hope this clears everything up. Please
let me know if you have any more questions.
[Name Removed for confidentiality]
theBalm
Here is another message I received from them
on January 20th of this year:
-------- Original message --------
Subject:RE: Product question
From:The Balm Info <info@thebalm.com>
[My personal email address removed for privacy]
Subject:RE: Product question
From:The Balm Info <info@thebalm.com>
[My personal email address removed for privacy]
Hi Liza,
Thanks for your email. We do not test our products on animals.
Suppliers of raw materials used in our products certified that they
have not been tested on animals since December 31, 1990 and our products have
not been tested on animals.
Thanks for sending us your information, we will definitely check
out your blog!
Thanks,
[Name Removed for confidentiality]
good to know!
ReplyDeleteThe suppliers do not test, but a third part?
ReplyDeleteIt's my understanding that products directly sold and marketed in China are required by Chinese law to be tested on animals (both ingredients and products are to be tested). If you're able to directly purchase from a website, then I would assume they are testing on animals. E.L.F, Urban Decay, Too Faced, etc. aren't shipping to China from their website so they aren't directly sold to China. They are well known cruelty free companies.
ReplyDeleteHi Celia, I hope you don't mind me replying to your comment but I just wanted to point something out. If a company is selling to China via an online service they legally don't have to test their products on animals. They only have to test if the store has a physical presence in the country (or possibly the international ports too).
DeleteI'm aware that your comment is quite old now, so you may be aware of this, I just wanted to comment so that anyone reading this was also informed.
Kelly
thevegantaff.com
However, they do use carmine in their bettyloumanizer, which is from insects, so no they are not cruelty free
ReplyDeleteHowever, they do use carmine in some of there products, which is derived from insects. Therefore, they are not cruelty free.
ReplyDeleteHi Luna. Thanks for reading. By "cruelty free" I meant that their products are not tested on animals. you are correct they are not a vegan brand. I apologize if my post was unclear.
ReplyDeleteCarmine is pretty much animal cruelty because it's made from 1000s of crushed female insects. :( I know the subject is on animal testing, but what about the insects that become the colour in your lipstick?
DeleteIt's true that China requires animal testing before the product can be sold in that country, so I find it suspect that The Balm stated it as they did. These companies are feeling the heat about animal testing anywhere in the chain of the production, marketing, and selling of their products, so they use tricky wording to get around it to appear to be telling the truth. I hope The Balm is cruelty-free because I love their eyeshadows.
ReplyDeleteNOT CRUELTY FREE! It appears Japan and China want any beauty products that are IMPORTED into their country to be tested on animals.
ReplyDeleteSo based on the company's statement- they would NOT be cruelty free since this is an export of cosmetics from the USA and by default- you must have items tested in order to be sold.
wow, that's cool
ReplyDelete