Elizabeth Arden (Revlon)

Last Updated: February 25, 2024

How Ethical Is Elizabeth Arden (Revlon)?

Make a positive impact by supporting companies with the same values and ethics as what matters most to you. To navigate and find ethical brands, here’s a summary of Elizabeth Arden’s ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Elizabeth Arden cruelty-free or vegan? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Elizabeth Arden’s policies.
Elizabeth Arden is NOT Cruelty-Free. Elizabeth Arden engages in animal testing by allowing its products to be animal-tested.

Elizabeth Arden is also owned by Revlon, a parent corporation that does engage in animal testing.
Yes, Elizabeth Arden sells its products in stores in mainland China under conditions where animal testing is still legally required.
Elizabeth Arden claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because Elizabeth Arden engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t classify anything sold or produced by Elizabeth Arden to be vegan.

Elizabeth Arden (Revlon)

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Elizabeth Arden is NOT Cruelty-Free!

Elizabeth Arden allows its products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law including when selling in stores in mainland China.

In addition, Elizabeth Arden is also owned by Revlon, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.

Elizabeth Arden’s Animal Testing Policy

On Elizabeth Arden’s website, they claim they do not perform any animal tests, “except in the rare instances where required by law.”

See below for a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Elizabeth Arden’s website:

Policies stating, “except where required by law,” usually imply the company is selling its products in mainland China. That’s because cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals.

Is Elizabeth Arden Sold in China?

In my research, I discovered that Elizabeth Arden products are indeed sold in stores in mainland China.

Below is a screenshot of Elizabeth Arden’s store locator showing results in mainland China, as well as, their Chinese website:

Elizabeth Arden Sold in China; Cannot Be Cruelty-Free
Elizabeth Arden Selling in Several Stores in China
Elizabeth Arden sold in stores in China, required to test on animals
Elizabeth Arden’s Chinese Website

But Doesn’t China No Longer Test on Animals?

Companies can bypass China’s pre-market animal testing by choosing to manufacture their ordinary or general cosmetics in China, but it’s not stated anywhere that Elizabeth Arden has taken this route.

Additionally, the possibility of post-market animal testing is not completely ruled out and may be conducted on some cosmetics sold in physical stores in China.

As of May 1, 2021, cosmetic companies can also export and sell their ordinary or general cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet a set of preconditions first. However, meeting these conditions has proven difficult, and it’s still unclear what exactly is accepted according to the new regulations. So there’s no word yet of any company that has successfully done so.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Elizabeth Arden) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2022.

Because Elizabeth Arden 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 2022.

Although Elizabeth Arden may not be conducting these animal tests themselves, they knowingly allow Chinese authorities to test their products on animals to sell in China.

For those reasons, we would not consider Elizabeth Arden to be cruelty-free by our standards.

Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China because of its animal testing laws. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Arden 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 Elizabeth Arden already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Complete Cruelty-Free Checklist

Is Elizabeth Arden Certified Cruelty-Free?

Elizabeth Arden is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.

Because Elizabeth Arden is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is looking into or substantiating Elizabeth Arden’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

Is Elizabeth Arden Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?

Yes. Elizabeth Arden is owned by Revlon, a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2022.

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, Elizabeth Arden is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Revlon.

Is Elizabeth Arden Cruelty-Free?

To sum up, by choosing to sell in mainland China, Elizabeth Arden must have its products tested on animals. Therefore, we would NOT consider Elizabeth Arden to be a cruelty-free brand.

Currently, Elizabeth Arden is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.

Is Elizabeth Arden Vegan?

Elizabeth Arden claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because Elizabeth Arden engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t classify anything sold or produced by Elizabeth Arden to be vegan.

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 Elizabeth Arden

Looking to switch to cruelty-free brands? Here are some cruelty-free and vegan-friendly options that are similar to Elizabeth Arden:

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What do you think

0 thoughts on “Elizabeth Arden (Revlon)”

  1. I was gifted an Elizabeth Arden and decided to check out it’s ethical policies especially cruelty free. Sadly it’s not and that’s a brand I’ll give up!

  2. Deleting Elizabeth Arden products from my use. Eliminating pain and suffering from Animals is more important to me than affording $’s from China to a cruel, non-caring company.

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