Henkel is responsible for safety, health and environmental matters relating to the production, distribution and use of its products. In fulfilling this responsibility, the raw materials and finished products are subjected to numerous tests and studies, most of which are required by law. Moreover, Henkel applies additional standards that guarantee a high level of product safety for consumers and the environment.

Henkel only performs animal testing if legal regulations so provide and no accepted alternative test methods are available for obtaining the required data.

For more than two decades, Henkel has worked intensively on the development of alternative methods capable of providing the information needed without animal testing. Such alternatives are often referred to as in-vitro methods (Latin: “in glass”), as the tests are carried out, for example, on cell systems. The methods developed by Henkel since 1982 include studies using cell cultures and skin models, as well as the hen's egg test which was developed through a collaborative effort. These methods are especially useful for studying compatibility with the skin and mucous membranes.

Many more projects for developing alternative methods are now in progress around the world. In addition to its continued scientific efforts, Henkel proactively works to accelerate the currently long-drawn process of legal accreditation of alternative test methods. The overall objective is to further reduce the number of animal tests and ultimately to eliminate the need for animal testing all together.

On November 7, 2005, the European Commission and a number of industrial companies founded the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA). The corporate members of the EPPA come from the chemicals, plant protection, cosmetics, detergents and household cleaners, and biotechnology sectors. The objective of the partnership is to promote the development of alternatives to animal testing.

The partners committed to the Brussels 3R declaration, namely to refine animal testing methods, to reduce the number of tests that make use of animals, and ultimately to replace animal testing altogether.

The EPPA has drawn up an action program for joint activities by the partners. In addition to the concerted development of alternative methods, the program promotes the development of new test and evaluation approaches. The program will be revised and published each year. Henkel was actively involved in formulating the declaration and participates in the action program through its research company Phenion with a large team of scientists. On December 18, 2006, the EPAA published its first annual report.

Henkel has consolidated its skin and hair research, dermatological studies, and the development of test systems that do not make use of live animals, in its research company Phenion. In 2006, the headquarters of Phenion, which was co-founded in with the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, were relocated to the Life Science Center in Düsseldorf. The purpose of the new competence center is to research interactions between substances and the human skin. Through the knowledge it gains, Phenion supports the development of innovative Henkel products and drives forward the development of alternatives to animal testing. Among other methods, Phenion uses a human skin model that it developed itself as a basis for devising new in-vitro test methods (tests carried out in a test tube). Through worldwide cooperation with leading research groups, Phenion also acts as an industrial reference center for the development, dissemination and implementation of alternative test methods.