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Estée Lauder is neither cruelty-free nor vegan. It may personally test ingredients and products on animals or works with suppliers or third parties who do so. Maybe both. Selling products in markets where animal testing can be mandated by law.
Is Estée Lauder Cruelty-Free?
Estée Lauder is not cruelty-free!
The brand potentially performs animal tests on its products and ingredients personally, or works with suppliers who do so, selling in markets where animal testing can be mandated on imported goods. In multiple markets.
Estée Lauder features on our list of brands who are not cruelty-free.
Estée Lauder Ethical Overview
- No Estée Lauder isn’t cruelty-free
- Yes it sells products in China
- No Estée Lauder isn’t vegan as it uses multiple animal derived products in it’s formulae
- It isn’t palm oil-free, but since 2015 all palm-based ingredients have been RSPO certified
- Estée Lauder is owned by the Lauder family
Is Estée Lauder sold in China?
Yes Estée Lauder sells products in mainland China. The multinational corporation sells in approximately 150 countries worldwide and China is one of them.
And selling imported cosmetics in China still puts products at risk of being tested on animals in pre or post market.
Whilst we cannot now claim that countries involved in selling products in China can be cruelty-free, China’s animal testing policy is no longer as black and white is it seemed.
Is Estée Lauder Vegan?
Estée Lauder is not a vegan brand. Whilst it does have some products – and brands. Aveda is 100% vegan – that are free-from animal byproducts, the brand is complicit in animal testing around the world and can’t be considered vegan.
Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Estée Lauder
FAQs
Estée Lauder is owned by the Lauder family who have approximately 85% of all voting power.
There are dozens of brands under the Estée Lauder umbrella including:
Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan New York, DKNY, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Michael Kors, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD BEAUTY, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna, AERIN, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced and Dr. Jart+, and the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD.
Whilst the majority of brands under the Estée Lauder umbrella do not quality as being cruelty-free, it does own some excellent cruelty-free brands including Aveda.
No Estée Lauder isn’t certified cruelty-free by any organisations because the brand – and many of its ‘child’ brands are complicit in cosmetic animal testing.
By both selling products in markets where animal testing can be mandated by law and working with suppliers who test on animals on the brand’s behalf.
No Estée Lauder isn’t Leaping Bunny certified as it is not cruelty-free because the brand is not certified cruelty-free.
Estée Lauder actually features in PETA’s ‘does test on animals’ database.
Estée Lauder claims that the brand doesn’t test products on animals or ask third parties test ingredients or products on its behalf.
But it admits to selling products in markets where this can be mandated by law. And as such is complicit in global animal testing The fact the brand partners with Cruelty Free International and the Humane Society International doesn’t change this fact.
Whilst Estée Lauder owns certain brands that are free-from animal byproducts, synthetic preservatives and fragrance – like Aveda or Origins – that we would class as natural. Estée Lauder products contain synthetic preservatives and other ingredients that means the brand is not natural.
Whilst some of Estée Lauder’s products are free-from synthetic preservative, other products contain parabens to increase their shelf-life.
For example, Estée Lauder’s Double Wear is hypoallergenic and free from Fragrance, Gluten, Coconut, Nickel, Lanolin, Paraben, Topical Antibiotic, MCI/MI, Soy, Oil, and Irritant/Acid. Whereas others are not so skin safe.
Estée Lauder is not palm oil free, but does have some palm oil focused sustainability plans that are more stringent than other multinational beauty brands.
And the brand is a member of the RSPO. Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. And Since 2015, 100% of the palm-based ingredients ELC sources for its products are RSPO certified.
