We all know that the term "cruelty-free" is not regulated. This means that any brand can call itself "cruelty-free" with no repercussions whatsoever, even if they, their suppliers, or any third parties, test on animals. Some brands, such as Almay, abuse this trick and label themselves as being "cruelty-free", although their products are sold in mainland China.
Other brands, like Fenty Beauty, fail to provide the necessary information about their animal testing policy to be added to the Cruelty-Free Kitty list of cruelty-free brands. They also claim to be "cruelty-free", but are unable to address their suppliers, third parties, or any animal testing where required by law.
For all these reasons, I compiled a list of popular brands that are not cruelty-free. Some of them test on animals, most commonly in mainland China, while some of them are in the grey area. From Almay to Schwartzkopf, here are 101 brands to avoid if you're trying to support cruelty-free brands.
Note: This lists includes brands that are in the grey area, meaning they have not confirmed their cruelty-free status with us and were unable to answer all our questions.
If you scroll down, you'll find the reasons why I added the brands with an asterisk (*) to this list.
101 Brands That Are Not Cruelty-Free
- Dove*
- MAC*
- Fenty*
- Morphe*
- Benefit
- Wet n Wild*
- Physicians Formula*
- Maybelline
- NARS*
- Clinique
- Nivea
- Laura Mercier*
- L'Oreal*
- Origins
- Sephora*
- Avon*
- Neutrogena
- CeraVe
- Fresh
- Clarins
- Kiehl's
- Dior
- Aveeno
- Revlon
- Rimmel
- Bioderma
- Chanel
- Maui Moisture*
- OGX*
- Caudalie
- Olay
- Palmer's
- Lancome
- Vichy
- Younique
- Bobbi Brown
- Nudestix*
- Laneige
- Lorac*
- Pantene
- Native*
- Philosophy
- Shiseido
- Essie
- Yves Rocher
- Colgate
- Honest Beauty*
- Nuxe
- Redken
- Alterna*
- Klorane
- Mary Kay
- Eucerin
- Make Up For Ever
- Max Factor
- Herbal Essences*
- Batiste*
- Tresemme
- Bourjois
- Oriflame
- La Roche Posay
- Vanicream
- Marc Jacobs Fragrances*
- Biotherm
- OPI
- Biore
- Unilever
- Joico
- Schwartzkopf
- Vaseline
- Matrix
- Glamglow
- Wella
- L'Occitane
- Tom Ford
- Gucci
- Sisley
- Almay*
- Clean & Clear
- Peter Thomas Roth
- Artistry by Amway
- Jergens
- Jo Malone
- Rusk
- Head & Shoulders
- Pond's
- Mitchum
- Crest
- La Mer
- Sally Hansen*
- Estee Lauder
- Dr. Jart+
- Old Spice
- Secret
Dove
This brand is not truly cruelty-free depiste their claims and PETA certification. They continue to sell some of their products in mainland China, where they could be tested on animals. If you're on the fence, please read my article on this topic to find out what it means for Dove to still sell in China.
MAC
Despite their misleading animal testing page, MAC has not been cruelty-free since 2012, when they joined the Chinese market. This means that the brand paid for their products to be tested on animals in China.
Fenty
Fenty is currently in the grey area, since they were unable to answer specific questions regarding their animal testing policy. It takes more than a "cruelty-free" claim to make it on the Cruelty-Free Kitty list, and we hope that Fenty will soon be able to confirm that their products or ingredients are not tested on animals, either by them, their suppliers, or any third parties.
Morphe
Morphe has been caught with contradicting claims about their animal testing policy. They've also mislabeled a product as being vegan and failed to warn their customers long after they changed the formula. For these reasons, we don't trust Morphe to be a cruelty-free brand and they're currently in the grey area.
Wet n Wild
In 2019, we broke the story about Wet n Wild secretly selling in mainland China and lying about their cruelty-free status. After Wet n Wild confirmed their presence in China and refused to pull out in order to remain cruelty-free, we moved the brand to our list of companies that test on animals.
Physicians Formula
After Wet n Wild, Physicians Formula was also spotted in mainland China. Both companies are owned by Markwins, who refuses to take responsibility for their misleading claims and pull out of China. Both brands are still on PETA's cruelty-free list, and they continue to market themselves as cruelty-free brands.
NARS
NARS used to be a cruelty-free brand until 2017, when the company decided to enter the Chinese market. This means that they agreed to have their products tested on animals in China, therefore losing their cruelty-free status.
Laura Mercier
Although Laura Mercier almost ticks all the cruelty-free boxes, they unfortunately can't confirm whether or not they tested on animals where required by law. This puts them in the grey area.
L'Oreal
L'Oreal has been heavily misleading their customers about their animal testing policy. They claim to be cruelty-free, but we need to read the fine print: they do test on animals where required by law, or under certain circumstances.
Sephora
The Sephora brand itself (Sephora Cosmetics) tests on animals.
Avon
Avon is using loopholes to market itself as a cruelty-free company in the United States. We don't consider this company to be cruelty-free in 2020.
Maui Moisture
Maui Moisture didn't address their complete animal testing policy, and they're in our grey area.
OGX
OGX lost their cruelty-free status when they started selling in mainland China. They currently test on animals where required by law, even though their marketing is misleading.
Nudestix
Nudestix lost their cruelty-free status when they entered the Chinese market. Even though they managed to bypass pre-market animal testing laws, they still put their products at risk of animal testing as per Chinese regulations.
Lorac
Because of confusing statements, Lorac is currently in the grey area. They claim that they're unable to confirm that "the suppliers of their suppliers" are cruelty-free, which could mean that they're doing their best to cover up any potential animal testing.
Native
Native is now owned by Procter & Gamble. When asked about their animal testing policy, they couldn't confirm that their suppliers don't test on animals, that no third parties test on animals on their behalf, or that they don't test on animals where requird by law.
Inglot
After being asked about their animal testing policy, Inglot could not confirm that their suppliers don't test on animals.
Honest Beauty
We reached out to Honest Beauty and to The Honest Company multiple times, but they were unfortunately unable to provide us with a full animal testing policy.
Davines
Although Davines promotes sustainable practices, the brand tests on animals where required by law. For this reason, it can't be considered a cruelty-free brand.
Alterna
Alterna couldn't provide their full animal testing policy.
Herbal Essences
Despite cruelty-free claims, Herbal Essences continues to sell in China, which puts the brand at risk of post-market animal testing.
Batiste
After reaching out to Batiste multiple times, we weren't able to hear back from them regarding their full animal testing policy.
Marc Jacobs Fragrances
Marc Jacobs Fragrances is owned by Coty and is tested on animals in mainland China. Not to be confused with Marc Jacobs Beauty, which is owned by Kendo and is not tested on animals. Both companies are licensing the Marc Jacobs name, and the two brands are completely separate.
Almay
Almay has started advertising their products as "cruelty-free", however please be warned that these claims are untrue. Although they don't test on animals themselves, they test on animals where required by law, which means this brand is not cruelty-free.
Sally Hansen
Be careful of their misleading claims! Sally Hansen nail polishes are currently advertised as "vegan" by the brand, however they're not cruelty-free. Sally Hansen tests on animals where required by law.
Please share this post!
Sharing only takes a moment, and you'll spread the word about animal testing. You can share this post to Facebook or pin the graphic below!
Which Brands Are Cruelty-Free?
Download our list of 600+ verified cruelty-free brands straight to your device. Bring it with you everywhere you go, and never worry about supporting animal testing again. Click here to download
I bought wet & wild waterproof mascara & it says on the packaging , not tested on animals. Are they lying? I only use cruelty free products bcs there’s no reason to test on animals. I noticed the expensive brands test on animals. That’s disgusting.
Hi, my wife and I were amazed at you list and check on the ones we use, after doing research we found your list is not true! ie Dove…
Look forward to your reply.
Very disappointed in the brand that say they are cruelty free and are not. For instance wet and wild. How do we know who I’d definitely cruelty free????
Tresemme seems to be in the same category (despite their recent Peta certification). Thanks for the informative post!
Hello , i’d like to know about Foame (Germany), this name is on site Peta, is it really cruently-free in that case? Thank you.
This is very upsetting, so what products are cruelty free ?
Here’s the list: https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/list-of-cruelty-free-brands/
Hey there! I’m making a project about this topic and I noticed some of these brands are in fact Cruelty-Free… Is there any chance they’ve changed their policy or something? Thank you!
Hello I was wondering if 3CE , Romand, and Naming Cosmetics are really cruelty free? They claim to be cruelty free on their websites. Also what k-beauty brands are cruelty free?
Hi! Just curious as to why Revolution Beauty is on here when it holds a PETA bunny stamp? Thanks x
Hi Hannah
Makeup Revolution refused to provide their full animal testing policy. It’s unclear whether or not their suppliers test on animals, or if they test on animals where required by law. Hope that answers your question!