Charlotte Tilbury: Officially No Longer Cruelty-Free

Updated 1/22/2020

UPDATE – After several back and forth conversations, Charlotte Tilbury responded with the following statement. This statement was received on January 21, 2020.

Hi Stephanie,

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, together with our suppliers do not test our products or ingredients on animals. We also do not use any third parties to carry any out of those tests. Our products are available in China under the cross-border e-commerce model which allows the importation and sale of foreign cosmetic brands to Chinese consumers without pre-market approvals.

Post-market testing would only be required on the rare occurrence of a serious consumer safety concern. Charlotte Tilbury Beauty has worked closely with local advisors who have confirmed the brand should be notified of such a concern, in the first instance. We would then withdraw the product if needed, rather than have it be subject to any animal testing.

We hope this helps answer your remaining questions.
Best Regards,
Allison
Customer Service
Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Inc.

Charlotte Tilbury has officially spoken out about their sample products found in Little B stores in mainland China. They are trying to go through the post-market animal testing loophole, where they ask local authorities to let them know if their sample products become a concern and need to be tested on animals. However, authorities in China are not obligated to notify brands, and there is really no way to verify whether Chinese authorities notify the brands or not. The brand is taking a risk of their products being tested on animals by being in China. Charlotte Tilbury is no longer cruelty-free.

Charlotte Tilbury is officially removed from all Free The Bunnies approved cruelty-free brands lists.

original post

Charlotte Tilbury is a luxurious cosmetics brand known for their high-quality product formulations and chic, prestige packaging. They have verified with Free The Bunnies directly that they do not test on animals, and neither do their suppliers. The brand also stated that they only sell in Hong Kong, part of China that is exempt from the animal testing regulations. So, why were they spotted in Shanghai, China??

charlotte tilbury spotted in mainland china

A dedicated follower of Free The Bunnies on Instagram recently shared photos of Charlotte Tilbury displays, banners, and window advertisements inside of a mall in Shanghai, China, which looks like a Little B collaboration. Since then, the cruelty-free community has been questioning Charlotte Tilbury’s cruelty-free status. Charlotte Tilbury continues to label themselves as 100% cruelty-free to this day.

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Calling a brand out on their cruelty-free claim is not something Free The Bunnies takes lightly. We need to make sure we are not doing the brand any harm if they truly are cruelty-free. So before we draw any conclusions, we need to understand the facts and what is really going on here. Is Charlotte Tilbury unaware that their products are being sold in China? Did they enter the animal-testing Chinese market intentionally? Who is Little B? There are many questions that need to be addressed before we can determine if Charlotte Tilbury really is selling in China and hiding it.

is charlotte tilbury selling in china?

Since the photos were released, I reached out to Charlotte Tilbury directly to get some clarity on the issue. Below is their full response, addressing the photos of them allegedly selling in Shanghai, China. This email was received on January 13, 2020.

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us at Charlotte Tilbury. We hope you are well.

I would like to reassure you that Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Ltd have never tested its products on animals. Additionally, our suppliers do not test our products or the ingredients used in our products on animals for cosmetic purposes, nor do we use a third to carry any of these tests on our behalf.

We are not members of Cruelty Free International, but we adhere to the EU Cosmetics Regulations which placed a ban on using cosmetic ingredients tested on animals for cosmetic purposes from the 11th of March 2009.

In addition, we do not use third parties to carry any out of those tests. We are still unable to sell in mainland China at this time due to the animal required testing. Hong Kong is exempt from China’s regulatory requirements regarding animal testing.

I hope this clarifies our position.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

According to the brand itself, they still do not sell in mainland China. They announced back in 2018 that the brand would expand into Asia, specifically Hong Kong ONLY. (Source) Checking Charlotte Tilbury’s store directory, the only stores listed include those in Hong Kong and Macau, another region of China not considered part of the mainland. When I searched for stores in Shanghai, China, there were no results.

So What’s REally Going ON?

Charlotte Tilbury has partnered with Little B stores in mainland China. Little B stores are a loophole way for brands to sell in China without selling to consumers directly in the stores. The Charlotte Tilbury products at the Little B store are samples that consumers can test on their skin before ordering the product online through cross-border channels.

Charlotte Tilbury products are technically not sold in the Little B stores in China. However, this is not a solution to sell products in China and avoid the animal testing regulations. Little B stocks products in their physical stores. Because consumers use these products as testers, the products are subject to post-market animal testing. Post-market animal testing can occur if there is a consumer complaint or reaction. These Charlotte Tilbury products are subject to post-market animal testing.

It is not likely that these products will ever be tested on animals, but there will always be a risk. Charlotte Tilbury had already been selling their products to mainland China through cross border channels, and they took a big risk by allowing their products into Little B stores. Even if the risk is small, I do not want to support any brand that takes risk in testing on animals for profit gains. Because of that, Charlotte Tilbury has been removed from the Free The Bunnies 100% Cruelty-Free Brands List at this time. It’s uncertain whether or not Charlotte Tilbury products will completely avoid being tested on animals while sitting in stores in mainland China, so it is best to keep them off the list.

Why did Customer Service Omit This Information?

I gave Charlotte Tilbury’s team a chance to provide insight on why their products are shown in Little B pop up stores and they denied that their products were in mainland China. They did not care to elaborate on the issue. I am curious to see how they respond to the news and I hope that they provide a statement explaining what’s going on.

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XO, Stephanie

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