The short answer: No, Neutrogena is not entirely cruelty free.
The long answer: Neutrogena’s parent company is Johnson & Johnson, a global brand that claims it “does not test cosmetic or personal care products on animals anywhere in the world, except in rare situations where required by law or where alternatives to validate safety do not exist.” Since Neutrogena’s products are being sold in China, the Chinese government can conduct tests on animals to make sure that Neutrogena’s skin care, hair care, and cosmetics products are safe for use.
Neutrogena tries to appease its client base by stating, “We share our consumers’ values and understand how deeply they care about the well-being of animals, so we are always striving to do better when it comes to this important issue.” The brand adds, “By partnering with top research organisations around the world to develop and promote alternative non-animal testing technology, we are committed to both ensuring the safety of our consumers, and to making the strides necessary to forever eliminate the need to test any cosmetic or personal care product or ingredient on an animal.”
Unless China removes their mandatory law on testing imported cosmetic goods on animals or Neutrogena stops selling its products in China, the brand cannot claim to be completely cruelty free.
References:
Neutrogena (Johnson & Johnson)
New Cosmetics Testing Regs in China Could Spare Thousands of Animals
