I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Avon and Leaping Bunny to celebrate their new roadmap towards cruelty-free certification. This roadmap is a significant step for Avon as they aim to achieve Leaping Bunny approval for their extensive range of brands and products. To shed light on the process and complexities behind cruelty-free certification, I spoke with Natalie Deacon, Avon’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, and Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of Cruelty Free International.
1. Why did Avon choose to go with a ‘road map’ approach to a cruelty-free certification?
Natalie Deacon, Avon Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability: “It’s really important to Avon that we are a responsible and transparent business. That’s why we wanted to share our commitment to Leaping Bunny approval and be clear on the roadmap. We don’t test on animals and we don’t ask anyone to do so on our behalf: Leaping Bunny approval is the gold standard to independently verify every supplier of every ingredient in our supply chain. Avon has many brands across several categories. Gaining Leaping Bunny approval across each one of these brands is a huge undertaking – wave one includes 660 ingredients and over 2000 suppliers. The sheer number of ingredients and suppliers that we need to verify and audit across the whole portfolio means that we need to organise a roadmap to approval for all our ranges. In the first wave we have Avon ANEW skincare and Avon Care – two of our best loved brands – and all of our fragrances. Given that Avon sells more fragrance by volume than any other brand, this is a huge landmark. Work is already underway to complete approval for our remaining products in the first half of 2024.”
2. What do you think are the pros and cons of this strategy?
Michelle Thew, Cruelty Free International Chief Executive: “The roadmap strategy is a positive one for Avon and for consumers who wish to buy Leaping Bunny approved products. It demonstrates real commitment from a global company and gives consumers the confidence to shop key brands today whilst looking to the future. Clearly such an announcement requires the commitment of future resource and energy to meet consumer expectations, but Avon are clear that this matters to them and they will deliver.”
3. Do you reckon other big brands will be influenced by Avon’s move towards cruelty-free?
Michelle Thew, Cruelty Free International Chief Executive: “A brand of the scale of Avon making such a series of public commitment is important not just for consumers but to deliver our shared vision to end animal testing in the beauty industry. As many more brands look to gain Leaping Bunny approval it is an important signal when global leaders such as Avon take such a visionary step. The public commitment to a roadmap for all brands within the Avon family signals what is possible and will, we hope, inspire other multinational brands to follow suit as we work to consign animal testing to the history books.”
I hope all this was helpful! Through this short interview, I hope to provide you with insights into the process and challenges involved in obtaining such a certification. It’s a big commitment for a brand to move forward with a Leaping Bunny certification and I truly commend any brand that dedicates their effort towards this. Congrats Avon!