L’Oréal, a multi-billion-dollar company, is the biggest cosmetics company in the world; it has a complicated corporate imprint and a wide range of presence across the nations of the world. One such question is whether L’Oréal supports relations with Israel, better explained against the background of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation and the continuous discussion of political and economic boycotts. This blog will provide a more complex overview of the status and activities of L’Oréal through examining the company’s business activity, its partners, scandals, and corporate social responsibility in regard to the state of Israel.
L’Oréal’s involvement in Israel is complicated, as the firm is being criticized for sponsoring L’Oréal Israel, its subsidiary maintaining a manufacturing plant in Migdal Ha’emek, a town built on land from which Palestinians were forced to be evicted. L’Oréal has significant business interests in Israel. Its Migdal Ha’emek factory produces cosmetics containing Dead Sea minerals, some of which are sourced from the occupied Palestinian territories. These areas are home to Palestinians who face various restrictions and discriminatory policies. L’Oréal Israel, employing around 300 workers, manages 21 local brands as well as a joint venture with the Israeli manufacturer of the brand. Thus, L’Oréal Israel is an important player in the Israeli cosmetic market and supports the community by donating medical supplies since the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
L’Oréal’s business presence in Israel
L’Oréal has had a strong commercial presence in Israel for many years. When Israel became a subsidiary company under L’Oréal, it was named L’Oréal Israel Ltd, and possessed a logistics center in Caesarea and premises for its head office in Netanya. The subsidiary is involved in the importation, distribution, sale, and production of a wide range of cosmetic products, with some of the global brands provided, like L’Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline, Lancome, and Yves Saint Laurent, among many others.
- L’Oréal in Israel, which was founded in 1959, has since then expanded to control the beauty market in the region, as far as the Israeli market is concerned.
- The company has over 300 employees in Israel, 60 percent of whom are women, which proves its interest in gender diversity.
- It has four business segments, each one targeting a different dimension of skincare and cosmetic requirements: Consumer Products, Luxury Products, Dermatological Beauty, and Professional Products.
- These lines of business show how well established L’Oréal is in the Israeli economy, and it will keep investing and expanding in a very aggressive manner.
Strategic partnerships and innovation in Israel
L’Oréal has established artistic partnerships with Israeli companies besides the traditional cosmetics industry. As an example, L’Oréal and BreezoMeter, the Israeli climate tech company that focuses on environmental data in terms of pollution and air quality, declared a long-term strategic partnership in 2024. With the use of Israeli technological expertise, this joint venture aims to develop better skincare products using environmental understanding, and this would indicate the efforts of L’Oréal towards the goal of sustainability and innovation. These alliances testify to the fact that L’Oréal has become a part of the high-tech market of Israel and its resolve to contribute to the R&D connections with local firms.
What are the long-term goals of L’Oréal’s employee share plans?
Essentially, the long-term goals of L’Oréal’s employee share ownership programs include aligning employee interests with the long-term growth and performance of the company, on the one hand, and fostering a strong feeling of ownership, on the other hand, and also sharing the economic benefits with those employees who help the company achieve success. In particular:
Sharing inclusive value: L’Oréal aims to enable a high number of employees across the globe to hold shares so that they can share in the financial prosperity of the company. In 2025, almost half of the L’Oréal world staff, or more than 45,000 employees, own shares included in L’Oréal, and this is a demonstration of the commitment to the community approach.
Long-term retention and engagement of employees: L’Oréal offers shares at a 20 percent discount, and with the inclusion of a matching share, it encourages the staff members to take part in the business and remain as shareholders on a long-term basis.
Aligning employee and company interests: By encouraging employees to act and think like shareholders, the strategies seek to turn them into strategic partners in L’Oréal’s success.
Program growth and annual renewal: This is a result of a deliberate, continuous attempt to increase employee ownership and involvement globally.
L’Oréal’s corporate social responsibility and sustainability in Israel
In the area, L’Oréal Israel possesses
- Created beauty care facilities in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities for women who are at risk.
- Backed social groups that worked to empower underprivileged women.
- Launched programs like “For Girls in Science,” which was created in collaboration with the Alliance Israélite Universelle, to encourage young girls to pursue STEM fields.
- Two years running (2020 and 2021), it was awarded the top score in the corporate responsibility and sustainability-related MAALA ESG Index in Israel, Platinum.
- With such efforts, L’Oréal Israel is no longer seen as a company that exploits the environment and the social life of the country.
Criticism and boycotts
BDS and pro-Palestinian activists have severely criticized L’Oréal despite its efforts in CSR. Critics argue that even L’Oréal’s operations in Israel and in particular its subsidiary in the occupied Palestinian territory of Migdal HaEmek, put the corporation in the line of supporting Israeli policies that have been seen as repressive or discriminatory against the Palestinians.
- Later, its marketing arm, L’Oréal, was asked to pay $1.4 million and make an apology after writing a letter to the Arab League, which was portrayed to promote a boycott against Israel, which to some indicates the close ties that the company has with Israel.
- The BDS movement questions L’Oréal based on its investments and its economic activities both in Israel and the occupied territories, describing it as a warm friend of Israel and urging the customers not to shop with it, not to buy its products, and not to work there.
- The use of resources in the occupied territories and Israeli settlements has been the source of boycott movements because of the involvement of the company.
These controversies have led to L’Oréal’s hopes that corporate responsibility and the morality of doing business in conflict zones are still a subject of much broader geopolitical debate.
L’Oréal’s official position and business strategy
This is not the case in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where L’Oréal has never come out to assert its desire to participate in the conflict politically. Instead, the company points out its commitment to an innovative age, sustainability, and social responsibility at the global and national levels. The group has done some worldwide sustainability projects and employee share ownership, not to mention the culture of business that believes in saving the environment and economic potential.
Corporate operations in conflict zones
Many international firms operate in areas with political unrest and human rights issues, so L’Oréal’s predicament is not unique. There is widespread controversy about whether doing business in Israel equates to endorsing the policies of the Israeli government.
- Some contend that, via cooperation, economic participation can foster communication and peace.
- Some argue that businesses’ presence in occupied areas validates and funds controversial policies.
- The difficulties multinational corporations encounter in striking a balance between their commercial objectives, moral principles, and political realities are best shown by the instance of L’Oréal.
Conclusion
L’Oréal is helping the country of Israel by conducting considerable business operations, investments, and collaborations there, including joint ventures where it engages in marketing, production, and research. Its subsidiary in Israel conducts various responsible and ethical, and environmental actions, and L’Oréal is a prominent player in the cosmetic industry.
Yet activists and boycotts have criticized when advocates link the support of Israel to human rights and political issues, particularly L’Oréal and its business presence in Israel and the occupied territory. Rather than advocating political support, L’Oréal’s official position is based on its corporate responsibility related to business, innovation, and sustainability.
