Talk of the Town Ellie dumps lucrative deal with shampoo firm in animal testing storm

ELLIE GOULDING has been paid a fortune to tell us that strong is beautiful as part of her deal as the face of Pantene shampoo. But I can reveal that the singer, pictured, who refers to herself as a staunch ‘Earth defender’ and animal lover, has decided not to renew her contract after more than two years with Procter & Gamble – the company behind the brand.

While her team has remained tightlipped about the reason, it may not be a coincidence that Procter & Gamble has recently come under fire over animal testing in China.

And last week, when criticised on Instagram for working for a firm that allegedly indulges in animal cruelty, Ellie immediately insisted she had parted company with them – prompting whispers in the world of beauty that her anger at the testing contributed to her not renewing the contract.

Ellie, 32, announced the end of her contract with Procter & Gamble on the day she released her new

song, In This Together, about climate change, which is also on the soundtrack of the new David Attenbroughnarrated Netflix documentary Our Planet. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that Ellie would disagree with tests undertaken in the Far East. In China, shampoo tests are carried out on rabbits. Syringes containing the solution are administered to animals’ eyes and they are monitored for signs of irritation. By law, all cosmetics made outside the country must be tested on animals before reaching the shelves in China. Procter & Gamble is estimated to have a 55per cent share of the £3.4 billion Chinese haircare market. It hardly sits well with Ellie’s affiliation to conservation charity WWF – in 2017, she began fronting its annual Earth Hour campaign. Last week, Ellie said that, while TV networks were still broadcasting her adverts, the contract was over and it would not be renewed. Procter & Gamble did not comment.