Naturewatch Foundation has a long-standing boycott of L'Oréal due to its continued use of animal testing for cosmetics. The French multinational uses ingredients that have been tested on animals, despite public statements to the contrary. It has also been criticised for lobbying against an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics.
The company has a history of defending animal testing. In 2003, L'Oréal was also reported to be part of the European Federation for Cosmetics Ingredients, a coalition of 70 European cosmetics companies. The organisation launched a legal challenge in the European Courts against the EU's ban on animal testing for cosmetics.
In January 2023 campaign manager for Animal Experiments at Naturewatch, Natalie Harney, said:
“Our boycott of L'Oreal still stands. They have some great PR on their website about how they've contributed to the development of alternative methods, and that's all good work. But they still don't categorically reject animal testing. There's really no excuse for that – so many companies are able to produce fantastic products that are truly cruelty free. It's about time L'Oreal, which is the biggest cosmetics company in the world, caught up.”
Naturewatch Foundation has organised protests and other actions against L'Oréal.