Marketing and consumption

Product Safety

We carry out scientific assessments of all our products to ensure they are safe. Our products are developed as per the guidelines set by Unilever globally. All risk assessments are undertaken by our Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC). SEAC's role is to provide independent scientific evidence and guidance so that we can identify and manage:

- Risks for consumers, workers and the environment with regard to the safety of products and supply chain technology, and

- Environmental impacts, with regard to the sustainability of Unilever's brands, products and supply chain

In India SEAC is linked through the Head of Corporate Safety & Environment (for occupational health and safety) and Head Corporate Quality Assurance (for product safety).

The safety of vulnerable groups, such as young children, pregnant women and old people, is always given a special focus. We keep a constant watch on scientific developments and review our findings in the light of new information. Rigorous assessments are undertaken to establish that the product is safe for consumers as well as the environment.

Our view on animal testing and chemicals in products

Most of our products are developed on global scale following the policies and procedures laid down by Unilever. Mentioned below is the approach and work done by our parent company in this area.

Animal testing: The vast majority of our products reach consumers without testing any material on animals.

Unilever, globally, has been developing and using alternatives to animal testing including new approaches to risk assessment, biological and computer-based modeling and 'non animal' methods for data generation since 20 days. We have a policy on animal testing which explains in detail our view on this issue.

Use of chemicals: Unilever determines the safety of chemicals in our products by assessing the risk – taking into account both the inherent properties of the chemicals (hazard) and the way they are used (exposure to the hazard).

We carefully choose chemicals to ensure they are safe for people and the environment. Unilever's Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) ensures that safety and environmental decisions are made independent of commercial considerations. Unilever products must be approved by SEAC.

Advertising and marketing policies

We are committed to responsible marketing and have clearly defined principles which guide our communications. Advertising is a way for us to engage with consumers on issues that matter to them. At the same time, we recognise the influence of marketing and advertising on consumers and take our responsibilities seriously. This means ensuring that all claims we make have a sound scientific basis and that all such communication passes the baseline test of being 'legal, decent and honest'.

Self-regulatory codes

We support the development of self-regulatory codes for all marketing and advertising and apply these across our business. Working through our industry trade bodies, such as ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India), we have supported the development of general principles in this area and their integration into advertising and marketing self-regulatory codes and systems around the world