LOREAL_Registration_Document_2017

3 L'Oréal’s corporate social, environmental and societal responsibility* L’ORÉAL’S CORPORATE SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIETAL POLICIES

The measures taken in favour of 3.1.4.5. consumer health and safety Guaranteeing the quality and safety of products all over the world Consumer safety is an absolute priority for L’Oréal. Safety assessment is at the centre of development of new products and a prerequisite before any product is launched on the market. The same safety requirements are applied to all our products so that consumers from all over the world have access to the same quality of products. The L’Oréal Group has set up a global entity ( Worldwide Safety Evaluation ) consisting of nearly 100 employees across 3 continents whose role is to assess and guarantee the safety of the products developed by the Group. Assessing product safety L’Oréal has set up a process to ensure that all products developed by the Group, whatever the geographical location of the laboratory in charge of the project, are subject to the same level of rigorous safety evaluation. The evaluations by the Worldwide Safety Evaluation entity based on a multidisciplinary scientific approach, are carried out at all stages of the product life cycle. This approach enables L’Oréal to meet the safety requirements of the national regulations in force in all the countries in which its products are put on sale, testifying to their safety of use. A safety report is issued for each product launched on the market. The product safety evaluation is based on the evaluation of each ingredient that enters into the composition of the product and the finished product itself. It is carried out on the basis of existing safety data and the latest medical and scientific knowledge, as well as conditions of use. If necessary, L’Oréal conducts additional safety studies in qualified laboratories all over the world. The results of these studies are interpreted by experienced scientists who are specially trained in safety issues with regard to cosmetic ingredients and products.

Furthermore, L’Oréal’s ethical principles, rooted in both scientific rigour and responsiveness to societal concerns, lead to a pre-emptive approach whereby formulations are evolved by removing and/or replacing substances on the basis of new data. L’Oréal’s added value, in terms of the safety assessment of ingredients and finished products, lies in its investment for nearly 40 years in the development of predictive methods and tissue engineering, and their international regulatory recognition. For many years, the Group has thus been investing in science and technology to create new evaluation tools which are used every day by safety assessors. L’Oréal also works closely with all the international stakeholders involved in relevant industries in order to progress the development of alternative cross-disciplinary solutions in the field of safety assessment. This longstanding commitment means that since 1989, or 14 years before regulations required, the Group no longer carries out animal testing in laboratories for any of its products. Equally, L’Oréal no longer tests its ingredients on animals. L’Oréal no longer tolerates any exceptions to this rule and this applies worldwide. The Group also does not delegate responsibility for doing so to anyone else. Some authorities may nevertheless decide to carry out animal testing themselves for certain cosmetic products and this is still the case in China. For more than 10 years, L’Oréal has been the company most committed to getting Chinese authorities and scientists to recognise alternative methods and changing cosmetic regulations to achieve the complete and final elimination of animal testing. As a result, since 2014, some products manufactured and marketed in China such as shampoos, shower gels and certain make-up products are no longer tested on animals. In fact, L’Oréal’s products continually evolve as and when technological innovations occur, but with the constant desire to guarantee the highest level of safety for both consumers and professionals.

Issuance of a report on the safety of each product

Putting the product on sale

Conduct of additional safety studies

Assessment of every ingredient and finished product

Collection of reports on any adverse effects through the international cosmeto-vigilance network

REGISTRATION DOCUMENT / L'ORÉAL 2017

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