Diptyque is a Paris based luxury fragrance brand that’s known for its high-end line of candles, perfumes, face and body care products.
I have seen this luxury brand pop up on so many Cruelty-free websites, bloggers lists and magazines, yet, I couldn’t find any official statement on their website on their testing policies or information on any certifications they own. So, I decided t0 research on my own.
Diptyque’s Animal Testing Policy
As I mentioned earlier, Diptyque has no official statement on their website regarding their testing policies. So, I emailed Diptyque to get more information on their stance on Animal testing. After a lot of follow up emails to them for several weeks, I was able to get this statement from them.
Hello Swetha,
Our products are made according to the European regulations relative to cosmetics and are not tested on animals as per the law of September 11th, 2004. Moreover, since March 11th, 2009, the law also forbids to practice animal experiments on raw materials composing our formulas.
Our products are regularly tested by French and/or European laboratories.
We can also guarantee that our products do not contain animal-derived ingredients, but can contain on the other hand ingredients stemming from animal secretions such as the beeswax.
In 2009, European Union has banned animal testing on cosmetics and in 2013 they extended the ban to stop sales on animal tested products.
From their statement, we can clearly see that they strictly comply to European Union’s regulations and they don’t test on animals.
Is Diptyque Vegan?
NO.
As you can see, from the above statement, they clearly state that they use Beeswax which is an animal ingredient. So they are not Vegan.
We can also guarantee that our products do not contain animal-derived ingredients, but can contain on the other hand ingredients stemming from animal secretions such as the beeswax.
Does Diptyque sell in China?
This the one question, I couldn’t get them to answer even after several weeks of follow up. But, after doing a lot of research, I found the below.
Before we dive into details, let’s revisit China’s animal testing laws on post market testing.
China’s Animal Testing Laws:
All non-special use cosmetics regardless of where they are manufactured, are subjected to non-routine(such as for a consumer complaint) POST-MARKET testing on animals ie, cosmetic products can be chosen at random and removed from shelves for “confirmatory” animal testing to ensure that the product on sale to customers is same as formulation approved for sale.
1. Diptyque has Store locations in China
Online Stores – Diptyque has a separate dedicated website for Chinese consumers https://www.diptyque-cn.com/
If a brand sells their products only online via, e-commerce in Mainland China, they don’t have to go through animal testing. But, what if they also have physical stores in China?
Physical store locations on their website – On Diptyque China website, I was able to pull up addresses of various store locations they have in China.
This clearly implies they have physical boutiques and retail stores in China, but it still doesn’t tell us what products are sold at these locations. So, after more research, I able to find the below sources.
2. Articles on Diptyque’s plans of expansion in China
Below are some articles and photos I was able to pull up on Diptyque having stores in Mainland China (Shanghai)
Diptyque had pop up stores and location across China. Infact the article quotes, the brand having entered Chinese market back in 2014.
Diptyque first entered the Chinese market in 2014, through a joint venture business mode, and opened stores in Shanghai and Beijing, with a very exclusive distribution at its own boutique stores and a few beauty counters in SKP Beijing and Lane Crawford. “This has allowed us to learn about the market and about the Chinese customers, who offered us a warm welcome since our start,” said Mauny.
Younger Chinese shoppers are growing increasingly interested in smaller, specialised niche brands, such as Diptyque, a French company making high-end scented candles, perfumes, face and body care products, which recently attracted long queues when staging an immersive experience at the Cha House in Shanghai. Photo: diptyque
From the above picture and quote from article#2, you can clearly see that Perfumes, face and body care products are also sold in China.
A few other quotes on Diptyque’s plans to on future expansion in China:
In late 2018, the brand strengthened its presence by opening additional stores in Nanjing, Chengdu, and Chongqing. This summer, Diptyque will break into the mega-city of Hangzhou, the capital city and the GDP power engine of Zhejiang province.
Besides an innovative retail approach, Diptyque has also devoted sizable resources in building an all-embracing digital strategy to grow business in China and to reach out to a wider range of customers. “Our strategy is to welcome the Chinese customers in the best possible way by knowing about their tastes and specific requests, and by following them on WeChat to know how to give them the best possible experience,” said Mauny.
3. More photos from other sources:
These pictures below clearly indicate that Diptyque also sells perfumes in the physical stores in Shanghai. And they have been since 2016 or even before.
Diptyque Taiwan’s Facebook page also posted updates on their boutiques in Shanghai, China.
CONCLUSION
- The photos and articles above clearly prove that Diptyque has physical retail stores in China. In fact, it looks like they have been selling in China since 2014 or even earlier.
- Photos also show that the boutiques not only carry candles, but also perfumes. Perfumes are non-special use cosmetics and they are subject to POST MARKET animal testing as mentioned above.
According to ETHICAL PIXIE standards and based on all the facts above, ❌Diptyque is NOT Crueltyfree!❌ Futhermore, Diptyque has been removed from all of my Crueltyfree lists.
