This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
You can find Alba Botanica’s cruelty-free products at Target, Walmart, iHerb, Well.ca, Shoppers Drug Mart, London Drugs, and on Amazon.
Alba Botanica is Cruelty-Free
Alba Botanica has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals, nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.
By our standards, we would consider Alba Botanica to be Cruelty-Free.
Below is a screenshot of Alba Botanica’s official animal testing statement:
What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?
As of May 1, 2021, some imported ordinary cosmetics can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, for the most part, animal testing is still legally required for most imported cosmetics in 2021.
But Alba Botanica has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.
Cruelty-Free Policies
Note that there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.‘ It can mean different things to different people. But Cruelty-Free is generally used to imply no animal testing. More specifically, the ingredients, formulation, or finished product are not tested on animals at any stage of product development.
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, and by any third parties.
Also, note that Cruelty-Free and Vegan don’t always mean the same thing.
Alba Botanica is Not 100% Vegan
‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.
In the case of Alba Botanica, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.
How to know which of Cosmetics products are vegan?
Alba Botanica clearly marks all of its vegan products on its website. They also claim all of their products are vegan except for two (see statement below).
The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Alba Botanica’s official website about its vegan products:
Additionally, Alba Botanica confirmed their glycerin is vegetable-based.
“The glycerin used in Alba Botanica products is vegetable based.”
Vegan Policies
Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it’s usually used in the context to describe something that doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.
Some common animal products used in cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, snail mucus, beeswax, honey, pearl or silk-derived ingredients, animal-based glycerin, keratin, and squalene.
There are plant-based and synthetic alternatives to animal-derived ingredients. But it’s sometimes difficult to know with certainty whether a product is vegan just by reading the ingredient list.
So it’s best to ask the company and manufacturers to ensure the ingredients they’ve chosen to use were from non-animal sources.
