You can find butter LONDON cruelty-free products at butterlondon.com, Well.ca, and on Amazon.

butter LONDON is Cruelty-Free

butter LONDON 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 butter LONDON to be Cruelty-Free.

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on butter LONDON’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

butter LONDON has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

“Our butter LONDON products are not sold in mainland China.”

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 2022.

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.

butter LONDON 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 butter LONDON, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of butter LONDON products are vegan?

All of butter LONDON’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. See below for an example.

Note: butter LONDON regular nail lacquers are NOT vegan (contains hydrolyzed silk) but their Patent Shine 10X™ nail lacquers ARE vegan.

“We have verified this with the manufacturer. As per the list that I provided you with in an earlier message, please note that only the new Patent Nail Lacquers are considered vegan. The regular nail lacquers are not.”

You can tell the difference between butter LONDON’s regular nail lacquers and their Patent Shine 10X (vegan) one by the packaging; the bottle cap is a chrome, silver color versus black or gold on their regular nail lacquer bottle.

Butter London Vegan Products

As of 2021, I will no longer be regularly updating this list of butter LONDON vegan products as all of their vegan products are now clearly marked. Check their website for the most up-to-date and accurate information on which products are vegan or not.

The following butter LONDON products are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products. This vegan product list was provided by butter LONDON.

Nails

• Hardwear Shine UV Topcoat
• Melt Away Cuticle Exfoliator
• P.D. Quick Dry Conditioning Drops
• Patent-Gel Top & Tails
• Patent Shine 10XT Nail Lacquer – ALL

Lips

• Glazen Lip Glaze – Rose Dust, Magic Dust, Gold Dust, Fairy Dust
• LIPPY Liquid Lipstick – Ultra Violet, Wild Orchid, Come to Bed Red
• Plush Rush Lip Liner – Sweet Something, Spiced Wine, Red Hot, Sizzle Pink
• Plush Rush Satin Matte Lipstick – ALL
• Sheer Wisdom™ Lip Oil – ALL

Eyes & Brows

• Glazen Eye Gloss – ALL
• Glazen™ Lustrous Liner – Disco, Flare, Ultraviolet
• Eye Pencil – Alabaster Gaze, Brown Sugar, Busker, Cor Blimey, Holland, Union Jack Black
• ICONOCLAST Infinite Lacquer Liner
• Matte Liquid Eyeliner – ALL
• Sheer Wisdom Serum Shadow – ALL
• SmokeStick Quick Smoky Eye Duo – Buzzworthy, Night Shift
• Stroke of Wow™ Roll On Liner – Morning Espresso
• Tailored Brow Tint – ALL
• WINK Matte Liquid Eyeliner – ALL

Face Makeup

• BlushClutch – Simply Sweet Violet, Tiger Lily, Hibiscus
• BronzerClutch – ALL
• Glazen™ Blush Gelée – ALL
• Glazen™ Face Glow Crystal
• Glazen™ Highlighting Gel – Champagne, Chandelier
• LumiMatte Cool Blue Blurring Primer

Skincare

• Scrubbers Makeup Remover Wipes

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Not Vegan – Butter London

Below is a list of Button LONDON products that are not considered vegan as they contain animal-derived ingredients:

• Eye Pencils – Inky Six, Indigo Punk – not vegan
• FitLash Volumizing Primer (contains beeswax) – not vegan
• Glazen Lip Glaze – Sugar Dust, Pixie Dust (contains carmine) – not vegan
• Glazen Lustrous Liner – Magnetic (contains carmine) – not vegan
• Horse Power Nail Rescue Basecoat – not vegan
• Inky Six ElectraLash Colour Amplifying Mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
• Nail Foundation Priming Basecoat – not vegan
• On the Glow Pen (contains carmine) – not vegan
• Plush Rush Lip Gloss (contains carmine) – not vegan
• Plush Rush Lip Liner – Sensual Nude, Really Rose (contains carmine) – not vegan
• Plush Rush Lipsticks (contains beeswax) – not vegan
• Pretty Proper ShadowClutch (contains carmine) – not vegan
• QuickFix Moisturizing Cuticle Balm – not vegan
• Scrubbers 2-in-1 Prep & Remover Wipes – not vegan
• Soft Matte Lip Cream (contains beeswax) – not vegan
• Stroke of Wow™ Roll On Liner – Pitch Black (contains carmine) – not vegan
• Tinted Lip Treatment (contains beeswax) – not vegan
• Trend Lacquers (with the black or gold caps)- not vegan

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.

Where are butter LONDON products made?

I asked butter LONDON where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“Our Nail lacquers are manufactured in the USA, the Double Decker Mascara is manufactured in Italy and our Teddy Boy Palette is manufactured in PRC, as this is where our supplier for the product is based.”

*Note: Cosmetics made in China are not required to be tested on animals. Only cosmetics that are imported and sold in physical stores in mainland China are required to be tested on animals according to China’s animal testing laws.

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral that’s used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.

Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

So I asked butter LONDON if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“Thank you for reaching out to butter LONDON! You will be happy to know that the mica in our products is ethically sourced and does not include the use of child labor. We ensure this by first spending time to vet each of our suppliers. We also require all of our suppliers to sign our supplier manual, which includes a section on supplier code of conduct and their ethical, legal, environmental, and social responsibilities. We specifically include that the use of child, forced or indentured labor shall not be practiced.”

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I hope this article helped you to understand butter LONDON’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!