Fresh, the luxury skincare brand owned by LVMH, does not have a cruelty-free certification from any major organization like Leaping Bunny or PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies program. The brand’s animal testing status is complicated by its business operations in mainland China, where regulatory requirements have historically included animal testing for imported cosmetics.
Fresh’s Presence in China
Fresh has been actively expanding its retail footprint in mainland China. The brand opened a counter at the Hainan Tourism Duty Free Shopping Complex in Sanya, and its leadership has publicly described “exciting growth opportunity” in the Chinese market. This expansion is significant because, for years, China required animal testing on all imported cosmetics before they could be sold to consumers.
In May 2021, China introduced a pathway for imported “general cosmetics” (everyday products like moisturizers, cleansers, and lip balms) to be exempted from mandatory pre-market animal testing. However, qualifying for that exemption requires manufacturers to submit specific documentation from their home country, a process that regulatory experts describe as challenging. It is not publicly confirmed whether Fresh has completed this process for its products.
Why China’s Rules Matter
Even with the 2021 exemption, selling physical products in mainland China carries animal testing risks that go beyond the initial approval stage. Chinese authorities retain the right to pull products off store shelves for post-market safety testing, which can include animal tests. A brand may not conduct or commission animal testing itself, but by choosing to sell in a market where regulators can test products on animals at any point, it accepts that possibility.
This is the core reason most cruelty-free certification bodies will not certify brands that sell in mainland Chinese retail stores. The brand doesn’t need to run the tests directly. Simply being available for purchase in a market with these regulatory powers is enough to disqualify it.
How Fresh Compares to Cruelty-Free Brands
Brands that are widely recognized as cruelty-free, like Lush, typically avoid selling in markets where animal testing could be required by law. They develop products without using animal-tested ingredients and do not test finished products on animals. Fresh has not made equivalent public commitments, and its active expansion into mainland China puts it in a fundamentally different category.
LVMH, Fresh’s parent company, owns dozens of beauty brands across multiple tiers. The conglomerate’s overall approach has prioritized access to the Chinese luxury market, which is one of the largest in the world. This corporate strategy tends to take precedence over obtaining cruelty-free certifications that would require pulling out of China entirely.
What This Means in Practice
If avoiding animal testing is important to you, Fresh is not considered cruelty-free by the standards most advocacy organizations use. The brand lacks third-party cruelty-free certification, sells products in mainland China through physical retail, and has not publicly confirmed it qualifies for China’s animal testing exemptions.
Whether Fresh directly commissions animal tests is a separate question from whether its products end up being tested on animals through regulatory processes. Both matter to consumers who care about this issue. Brands that want to guarantee no animal testing at any stage of their supply chain or distribution typically choose not to sell in countries where authorities can mandate it.