Is Kate Somerville Cruelty Free?

Is Kate Somerville Cruelty Free?

Is Kate Somerville Cruelty Free? I’d always thought so, but I recently reached out to see what Kate Somerville had to say.

I started by asking:

Are your products cruelty free? Do you sell in China? Do you test on animals?

Kate Somerville Said:

Hello Courtney,

Thank you for contacting us!

None of our products are tested on animals, however, it is an industry standard to conduct safety testing (HRIPT) on humans. There are strict Clinical Testing guidelines on conducting tests on humans (under close supervision of a certified Medical Professional), so we use certified clinical labs for HRIPT (human repeat insult patch test) and Ophthalmology test (on human subjects).

Being that our company philosophy is not to test on animals, we require all of our partners to follow this as well. We check our supply chain and documentation trails to verify. We also state in the “Quality Policy” section of our website that we do not test on animals. (http://www.katesomerville.com/customer-care/quality_policy/).

Our products are sold in the US, Canada, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. The only country in Asia that requires animal testing is China. Kate Somerville does not have a licensed distributor in China.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Kind Regards,
KS Team

I asked for more information after receiving that promising response:

Would you mind answering in-depth, please? Is Kate Somerville 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?

Do you have documents from your ingredient suppliers to show that they are not testing on animals for your brand or any other brand?

Does your manufacturer purchase any ingredients from laboratories that conduct tests on animals? Do you have documents to support this?

Are the products sold in any markets where animal testing is required by local law and regulations (China, etc)?

Are any of the products vegetarian? (no animals killed for the products – i.e. some forms of collagen, squalane, etc.)

Are any of the products vegan? (i.e. product ingredients that come from animals like lanolin, honey, milk, etc.)

Is your company certified by Leaping Bunny?

Thanks for your help with this! I really appreciate it.

Their response:

Below are the responses I received from our Product Development team to your questions.

Are the finished products tested on animals by the company, a parent company, a third party or an affiliate company?
-NO

Are the products tested on animals during the production process by the company, a parent company, a third party or an affiliate company?
-NO

Do you have documents from your ingredient suppliers to show that they are not testing on animals for your brand or any other brand?
-Most suppliers, if not all, have moved away from animal testing of ingredients. For those suppliers that still do animal testing for whatever reason, we choose not to work with them.

Does your manufacturer purchase any ingredients from laboratories that conduct tests on animals? Do you have documents to support this?
-Most suppliers, if not all, have moved away from animal testing of ingredients. For those suppliers that still do animal testing for whatever reason, we choose not to work with them.

Are the products sold in any markets where animal testing is required by local law and regulations (China, etc)?
-No, not at this time. If we do go into China in the future it will only be via e-commerce and our understanding is that no animal testing is needed or required to sell via internet.

Are any of the products vegetarian? (no animals killed for the products – i.e. some forms of collagen, squalane, etc.)

-We are in the process of validating which products could be legally classified as “vegetarian” but that is an extensive process and will post when information is available. The squalane we use is plant derived.

Are any of the products vegan? (i.e. product ingredients that come from animals like lanolin, honey, milk, etc.) !

-Not all products are vegan. For instance, we do sell Goat Milk Moisturizer. We are in the process of validating which products could be legally classified as “vegan” but that is an extensive process and will post when information is available.

Is your company certified by Leaping Bunny?
-We are not currently certified by Leaping Bunny but are looking into it for the future.

I’m really happy with Kate Somerville’s response. So, Is Kate Somerville Cruelty Free? The answer is yes! I will continue to purchase from them.