waving goodbye to wilkos products

from leaving school i worked at wilkinsons for what seemed like a very long three years, and during my time there i grew extremely fond of some of their hair and beauty products because they were pretty good quality and at pocket friendly prices. since choosing to go cruelty free back in october, i've mostly avoided wilkinsons because i wasn't sure about them – my main swap being dry shampoo as wilkos' offering was once my holy grail – but on occasion i'd pop in for this or that if i was in a rush and in need of products. recently i've been questioning their stance on animal testing, thinking that there may be a good chance of them being in the clear because as far as i know, they don't sell outside of the UK, however this week i decided to settle my disputes once and for all and get in touch with them about their policies. i was met with this extremely confusing reply:

Dear Robyn

Thank you very much for your email, regarding our own products and the issue of testing on animals.  Please be assured that Wilko is a responsible retailer and as such, we have a policy in place regarding this particular issue.  This is as follows:

Our Policy: Animal Testing

We recognise the importance of making sure the products we sell and use are of high quality, safe and effective in carrying out the task expected. We believe that developing products from ingredients to finished products should not involve animal testing, however we do recognise that for some products there is still a legal requirement to do so. Therefore, as a minimum, we will meet legislative and regulatory requirements whilst seeking to adopt best practice where possible.

In support of this commitment, we operate a fixed cut off date of 2000 whereby we have not conducted or commissioned animal testing on our own brand products or their ingredients. Furthermore, we will ensure that our own brand suppliers do not carry out or commission animal testing of either the product or its ingredients.

Own brand products
The scope of our commitment extends across our own brand cosmetics, toiletries, personal care, household cleaning and baby care ranges. However, we will continually review our other ranges on a regular basis and amend the scope where appropriate.

I do hope that the above information is helpful Robyn and thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

wilkos responded very quickly to my question (within 2 days,) however it seems that they couldn't quite make their mind up about the answer they wanted to give me. they go from stating that they will test on animals where required by law, to then stating that they haven't tested on animals or commissioned others to do so since 2000, making for an altogether confusing and frustrating answer.

where it appears that wilkos may not have been involved in testing for some 14 years now, i do find their moral stance questionable as they clearly state that they are happy to do so wherever law requires it, suggesting that they may sell within areas outside of the UK that require testing. of course i'm far from an expert on this topic and i'd love it if any of my readers could shed a bit of light on this situation for me.

as of now, i'm choosing to boycott wilkinsons' own brand toiletries, cosmetics and cleaning products, and am thinking about boycotting the shop altogether. where wilkinsons is handy for picking up stationary and homewares, i don't know how i feel about giving money to a company that is perfectly happy to test on animals where money comes into the equation. what do you think?

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