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Is Estée Lauder Cruelty-Free?
☠️ Estée Lauder is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Estée Lauder allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, including when selling in stores in mainland China.
Note that Estee Lauder is the flagship brand of Estee Lauder Companies Inc., which owns several other beauty brands. In this post, I’ll explore the brand, Estee Lauder’s animal testing policy, and cruelty-free/vegan status.
Estée Lauder’s Animal Testing Policy
When asking, does Estée Lauder test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Estée Lauder’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.
To assess whether brands are cruelty-free, I always start with the company’s official animal testing policy on their website.
On Estee Lauder’s website, they state their parent company, Estee Lauder Companies’ animal testing policy. Estee Lauder claims they don’t test on animals, except where required by law. And “there are, however, still some countries that believe they need to conduct or require animal testing in order to validate the safety of cosmetic ingredients or products.”
See below for a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Estee Lauder’s website:
Policies stating, “except where required by law,” usually imply the company distributes its products in countries that require animal testing, like mainland China.
Is Estee Lauder Sold in China?
In my research, I discovered that Estee Lauder products are indeed sold in stores in mainland China.
Below is a screenshot of Estee Lauder store locator showing results in mainland China:
But Doesn’t China No Longer Test on Animals?
With the recent changes to China’s animal testing laws, cosmetic companies can now export and sell some of their cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet ALL of the following preconditions first.
- ONLY sell ‘general’ cosmetics (like makeup, skincare, haircare, nail polish, and perfumes)
- must NOT sell any ‘special’ cosmetics like sunscreens, hair dye, hair perming, or other cosmetics claiming new efficacy
- must NOT sell products designed for infants or children
- must NOT sell products that contain a ‘New Cosmetic Ingredient’
- AND if post-market testing is required, then the company must have a policy in place where it will RECALL its products rather than allow its products to be tested on animals
Also, products must meet ONE of the following in order to avoid animal testing in China:
- manufactured in China, or the final assembly is in China
- if manufactured outside of China and then exported to China, companies must obtain the proper product safety certificates and documents
However, it’s not stated anywhere that Estée Lauder has taken any steps to meet the above preconditions in order to avoid animal testing while selling in China.
Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Estée Lauder) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2023.
Because Estée Lauder has decided to sell in mainland China stores, they must consent and pay to have their products tested on animals. That’s why most cosmetics brands selling in mainland China cannot be considered cruelty-free in 2023.
Although Estée Lauder may not be conducting these animal tests themselves, they knowingly allow Chinese authorities to test their products on animals in order to sell in China.
For those reasons, we would not consider Estée Lauder to be cruelty-free by our standards.
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Cruelty-Free Policies
Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China under conditions where animal tests may be required. Unfortunately, Estée Lauder refuses to do the same and therefore cannot be considered cruelty-free.
At ethical elephant, we always assess a company’s cruelty-free policy using our Cruelty-Free Checklist. This ensures no animal testing was performed by the brand itself, its suppliers, or by any third parties, including when required by law.
See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Estée Lauder already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.
Is Estée Lauder Certified Cruelty-Free?
Estée Lauder is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.
Since Estée Lauder is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is substantiating or auditing Estée Lauder’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.
Is Estée Lauder Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?
Yes. Estée Lauder is owned by Estée Lauder Companies Inc., a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2023.
Some cruelty-free consumers may choose to purchase and support cruelty-free brands owned by animal-tested parent corporations as they hope it will convince the parent company to become cruelty-free.
But in this case, Estée Lauder is NOT cruelty-free, and neither is its parent corporation, Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Does Estée Lauder Test on Animals?
To wrap up, Estée Lauder allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, like when selling in China. Therefore, we would NOT consider Estée Lauder to be a cruelty-free brand.
Currently, Estée Lauder is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.
Is Estée Lauder Vegan?
❌ Estée Lauder is NOT vegan. Estée Lauder does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Estée Lauder engages in animal testing in some capacity, we wouldn’t consider any Estée Lauder products vegan anyways.
In order for products to be considered vegan by ethical elephant’s standards, the products and their ingredients must not be tested on animals anywhere in the world. Also, they must not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Estée Lauder
Looking to switch to cruelty-free products? Here are some cruelty-free brands to check out:
18 thoughts on “Estée Lauder”
Hello, thank you for this. Though I am thoroughly confused. Please excuse my ignorance. I’m thinking: if it’s China that demands that EL’s products be animal-tested before being sold there, then isn’t that done as a previous stage, where maybe, let’s suppose, China orders (super simplified example) 10 lipsticks, so maybe those 10 lipsticks only will be animal-tested somewhere. My question is: are you saying that regardless of where EL’s products are sold, are they all animal-tested everywhere as soon as they are finalized, as a matter of practicality? Basically, for logistical reasons, does EL then animal-test all of their products, since they can’t control which ones will end up in China?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
In order for companies to sell their products in-stores in Mainland China, they must register the cosmetics they want to import and sell in China with the Chinese government. And as part of this registration process, animal testing is mandatory and required by law in China.
This registration process isn’t a matter of China “ordering” products from companies that they wish to sell to their people, this process is the responsibility and decision that cosmetic companies choose to make in order to increase profits and enter China’s lucrative market.
So with that being said, any cosmetic companies that want to import and sell their products in Mainland China must have their products/ingredients/formulations tested on animals by Chinese officials.
Even if these companies have proven the safety and efficacy of their products with non-animal testing methods in the US, Canada, the EU, or wherever they are based in… if they want to register and sell their products in China, their products must be re-tested by the Chinese officials, but this time, using animal test methods.
Please note that China is making some progress in accepting more and more non-animal test methods but as of today, China still requires all imported cosmetics to be tested on animals.
So in the case with Estee Lauder, the products or brands they are selling in-stores in Mainland China have gone through this registration process where those products or its ingredients have been tested on animals as required by China’s laws.
Please also note: Online Sales where companies ship and sell directly to their customers in China are NOT required to have their products tested on animals because in this case, these products do not have to be registered. It’s only an issue when cosmetics are imported and sold in a physical store in China.
Most countries (like the US, EU, Canada) do not require cosmetics to be tested on animals to prove they’re safe for human use and that’s why and how brands can be cruelty-free. But if any cosmetic brand that is selling and importing their products in Mainland China can no longer be considered cruelty-free because of China’s animal testing requirements.
And that explains why Estee Lauder and any of EL subsidiary brands, that are sold in China, are not considered to be cruelty-free.
I hope that helps to clear things up for you, I’m not quite sure if I answered your question but please let me know if you have any further questions and I’ll try my best to help answer them for ya!
Hi,
My question is the same as Melissa’s which still appears to be unanswered.
Please can you clarify x
Hi Nikki,
I just answered Melissa’s question which you can view and read below.
Please let me know if you have any other questions! =)
What about the Estee Lauder brand itself? They make a lot of skincare products with their own brand name on them. I’m assuming they’re sold in China but wasn’t sure.
I have. Used Estes lauder double wear makeup for years but no more. I feel your company
Is only interested in money. Shame on you. I have told many of my friends who also has
Used your makeup but will switch immediately. So let the Chinese use lab created skin. And
Not innocent animals. Go ahead and publish my remarks, more people need to know.
OK, I have all the answers below do not tell me if EL doublewear makeup is animal tested or
Not. Regardless of where you sell it, is the double wear makeup I buy at Dillard’s here in
town tested on animals or not? Please just a yes or no answer. Thank you, Marlene Boston
who wrote this article?