The Body Shop is a popular vegetarian British cosmetics, skincare and fragrance brand offered in 66 countries. The brand was known as a 100% cruelty-free, privately owned brand until it was acquired by L’Oreal in 2006, a parent company that is not cruelty-free. It was discovered in 2014 after the acquisition that The Body Shop had entered the Chinese market, where animal testing is required by law.
Linked to the fact that The Body Shop was no longer a cruelty-free brand, L’Oreal sold the brand because of declining sales. (This is a great example of why our voting dollars count!) In 2017, L’Oreal sold the brand to Natura Cosmetics. Is The Body Shop cruelty-free again now that it’s under a new parent company? Keep reading to find out.
Who is Natura Cosmetics?
Natura Cosmetics is a Brazilian company that focuses on ending animal testing by educating and doing training with others on alternative methods for cosmetics testing. Animal testing is not required by law in Brazil and they are actually another country that is moving towards banning animal testing. Natura is a cruelty-free brand.
Does The Body Shop still sell in China?
When Natura acquired The Body Shop in 2017, they pulled the brand out of China.
Is The Body Shop Free The Bunnies approved?
The Body Shop has confirmed that they no longer sell in China, and no animal testing occurs at any point in production. They also source ingredient suppliers that do not test on animals. Their parent company, Natura, is also cruelty-free. So, The Body Shop is 100% cruelty-free and Free The Bunnies approved. This is amazing news!
Below are some of my favorite products from The Body Shop that I’ve purchased since the status change. If it wasn’t for our dollars showing L’Oreal that being cruelty-free matters, The Body Shop wouldn’t be what it is today – cruelty-free!
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XO, Stephanie
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Natura is not 100% cruelty free since they are partnered with Avon that still practices animal testing in Continental China so giving money to them is same as giving molney to Avon…
Natura has acquired some of the Avon shares, but the profit from Body Shop products do not go to Avon. They still go to Natura. I will look further into this to determine whether or not Natura can be considered a cruelty-free parent company.
The Body Shop is in Hong Kong which even though is part of China, it has its own laws and products are not subjected to animal testing. If someone from China buys online and has it sent in from Hong Kong, that’s is permissible. But there are no longer any store front The Body Shop shops in China anymore.
The Body Shop is definitely still in China…
Hi Kayleigh. Since they became acquired by Natura in 2018, they pulled out of the Chinese market and became 100% cruelty free. If you have different information, please submit it to freethebunnies.com/contact-us/ . Thank you! 💕