Business
The Open Wing Alliance Calls on Unilever to Reinstate Its Global Cage-Free Egg Commitment
The Open Wing Alliance (OWA), a coalition of 84 organizations working to end the abuse of chickens worldwide, calls on Unilever to reinstate its pledge to source 100% cage-free eggs worldwide and to publish a clear, time-bound action plan for achieving full cage-free sourcing across all markets.
About this update from Unilever Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"Unilever faces global pressure to reverse its cage-free rollback and align with an industry rapidly abandoning cages","length":116,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Wing Alliance (OWA), a coalition of 84 organizations working to end the abuse of chickens worldwide, calls on Unilever to reinstate its pledge to source 100% cage-free eggs worldwide and to publish a clear, time-bound action plan for achieving full cage-free sourcing across all markets.","length":333,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Formerly an industry leader in animal welfare, Unilever quietly removed its global pledge in late 2025 following a period of corporate restructuring; a move that now poses growing brand and reputational risk as cage-free sourcing becomes the global standard across the food industry.","length":283,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""Unilever's decision reflects a bet against the market," said Brooke Fane, Sr. Corporate Campaign Lead, at The Humane League. "In 2024, companies fulfilled roughly 92% of their cage-free commitments globally, while governments, including the UK, are advancing bans on cages. Cage-free sourcing is no longer aspirational; it's operational. Reversing course now puts Unilever on the wrong side of that shift."","length":435,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Unilever first committed in March 2018 to sourcing only cage-free eggs across its global supply chain, a move that helped position the company as an industry leader on animal welfare. That commitment applied to all regions and markets. In a recent update to its website, however, Unilever removed its global cage-free pledge, limiting its commitment to Europe and North America and leaving millions of hens in other regions confined in cages.","length":442,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Unilever operates in more than 190 countries and owns nearly 30 "Power Brands," supported by hundreds of sub-brands, including household names such as Hellmann's, Knorr, Seventh Generation, and Dove. As one of the world's largest food manufacturers, Unilever's egg sourcing decisions affect an estimated 1.38 billion eggs — and nearly 5 million hens — every year, including more than 1.3 million hens in emerging markets where cage-free protectio...