Is Batiste Cruelty Free?

Recently, I emailed Batiste to ask, is Batiste cruelty free? A nice person had left a comment on my Youtube Channel that they were no longer cruelty free. I went to investigate

Is Batiste cruelty free?

I emailed Batiste:

Hi!

I wanted to confirm that Batiste is cruelty free?
Are the finished products tested on animals by the company, a parent company, a third party or an affiliate company?
Are the products tested on animals during the production process by the company, a parent company, a third party or an affiliate company?
Are any ingredients used in the products tested on animals by the company, a parent company, a third party or an affiliate company?
Are any ingredients used in the products tested on animals by the company, a parent company, a third party or an affiliate company to comply with any laws and regulations?
Are any ingredients used in the products tested on animals, or do they contain ingredients that have been tested on animals, by the company, an ingredient supplier, an affiliate company, or a 3rd party supplier in order to comply with laws such as TSCA, CEPA, ELINCS, EINECS, REACH, NICNAS, SCCP, etc?
Are the products sold in any markets where animal testing is required by local law and regulations (China, etc)?
Are the products vegetarian? (no animals killed for the products – i.e. some forms of collagen, squalane, etc.)
Are the products vegan? (i.e. product ingredients that come from animals like lanolin, honey, milk, etc. – being vegan is NOT necessary for my blog, but a bonus for my vegan readers)
Is your company certified by Leaping Bunny? (NOT necessary, but definitely a nice thing! Find out how easy it is to get Leaping Bunny certified!)

Thank you for your help with this!

Kind regards,
Courtney

They responded with:

Please call our Consumer Relations Department at 1-800-952-5080 as they can best assist you with this inquiry. They are open Monday – Friday from9am – 5pm ET.

I thought this was weird.

I called Batiste to ask my questions. They responded with:

We don’t test on animals. We require that our suppliers not test on animals either. The only way our products would be tested is if it is required by law.

I asked:

What countries do you sell in?

They said:

USA & Canada.

I asked:

Where else do you sell? Do you sell anywhere that requires animal testing, like China?

They said:

Uhm, I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my supervisor.

I said:

I don’t mind holding. Thanks!

After a brief hold of 5 minutes they came back.

They said:

We can’t tell you where Batiste is sold. That’s proprietary information. We don’t release that to the public.

I said:

Are you kidding me? You’re trying to claim that the list of countries you’re sold in is proprietary information?

They said:

Yes.

I said:

Ok, well, now I know you’re testing on animals. I will no longer buy your products. 

The answer they gave me was such b.s. Where a company sells their products is NOT proprietary information. No wonder they refused to answer my questions via email. They don’t want people to call them out on their bullshit.

So no, Batiste is not cruelty free. I’ve been a fan of theirs for years but no longer now.

Update:

Batiste is telling people on Facebook that they’re cruelty free. They’re also telling people they’re Leaping Bunny certified. They’re not. They do NOT  have the Leaping Bunny symbol on their packaging. The picture above is from the Cherry Dry Shampoo by Batiste. It clearly shows a generic bunny, but not the Leaping Bunny.