CHI

Last Updated: February 1, 2022

How Ethical Is CHI?

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 CHI's ethics and initiatives.

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Ethical Analysis

Is CHI cruelty-free or vegan? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on CHI’s policies.
CHI is cruelty-free. None of CHI’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals anywhere in the world.
CHI does not sell its products in stores in mainland China.
Not all of CHI’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
CHI offers a line of “eco brushes” that claim to be made with durable plant-based plastic that is derived from corn and the handles of the brushes are 100% compostable.
CHI claims their mica is ethically sourced without child labor. See their ethical mica mining policy here.
CHI products come in plastic packaging. Some of which claim to be recyclable. But I couldn’t find anything stating they’re working on reducing their use of virgin plastic in their product packaging.

About CHI

CHI Haircare is a Houston-based company of hairdressers for hairdressers, known for manufacturing high-quality professional hair care products.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS MADE IN: USA, China
PRODUCTS: Hair Care
CERTIFICATIONS: Leaping Bunny

CHI

This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

You can find CHI’s products at chi.com, Ulta, and Target.

CHI is Cruelty-Free

CHI 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 CHI to be Cruelty-Free.

“Currently, we do not test our products on animals and have received assurances from our suppliers that the ingredients we use in our products are not tested on animals (vertebrate and invertebrate).”

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 2022.

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

CHI is owned by Farouk Systems and until recently, CHI used to sell its products in stores in mainland China where it was required by law to test on animals. However, Farouk Systems Inc (FSI) recently reached out to me and confirmed none of their products are currently sold in China.

“Regarding selling into China, we entered into a distributorship agreement for the Asian market which included mainland China; however, that agreement was entered into in 2019 with sales to commence this year due to the change in Chinese law regarding importation of cosmetics.  As of now, there have still been no sales into China by that distributor.  I have contacted our legal department who will review the distributorship agreement to see if it prohibits testing on animals.  If not they will amend the agreement to include such a prohibition.”

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.

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

How to know which of CHI’s products are vegan?

CHI Vibes hair care products seem to be the only products that are advertised and marked as being vegan.

“The all new, 100% vegan haircare collection, CHI Vibes is finally here! Featuring three amazing products and one unique styling tool. This collection is perfect for anyone who loves creating beautiful beachin’ waves and curls while using styling products that are unique and good for their hair.”

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it usually means no 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 CHI’s products made?

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

“All of our wet line products are made in Houston, TX. Our tools are manufactured in China.”

*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 CHI if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“Thank you for calling out your concern regarding our use of mica.  You are rightly concerned in that some mica mining can create safety and health risks for workers, as well as using child labor in its mining.  Because of these upsetting issues with mica mining and other ingredients, we vet all our suppliers as part of , and required by, our ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management Systems), ISO 22716:2007 (Good Manufacturing Practices for the Cosmetics Industry) and EFfCI (European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients) certifications.   

Specifically speaking of mica, the mica is a component in another ingredient used as an opacifying agent for the product.  This ingredient supplier exclusively sources all of their mica from their wholly owned mica mine located in Hartwell, Georgia (USA).  Reviews of OSHA’s inspection database shows no complaints nor fines for this operation, which we searched back twenty years.

In addition, the EPA inspections likewise demonstrate compliance with EPA’s environmental regulations demonstrating the operation is not damaging the environment. We appreciate concerns consumers such as yourself voice, and as a company strive to maintain not just a high degree of quality products, but products that are ethically manufactured to include carefully choosing who we buy our ingredients from.  We as a company are also a consumer, and we as employees are green and safety conscious consumers as well.

We appreciate your patronage and encourage you to contact us whenever you have a concern about any of our products or ingredients. We will gladly review your concerns to confirm that our suppliers are maintaining the ethics and integrity demanded by us.


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

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What do you think

6 thoughts on “CHI”

  1. If they do not test on animals, they cannot be sold in China. However, they said, “We do not involve in animal testing, but can be sold in China,” What a stupid reply!

  2. Not to mention the obvious, that Biosilk contains silk, which is an animal (insect) product. I would not consider something cruelty-free if it’s not also vegan. Those go hand in hand for me.

    1. Good point about the silk!

      I agree with you, I don’t see how using ingredients derived from animals (insects included!) can be done in a cruelty-free manner. If I had it my way, I’d redefine the term ‘cruelty-free’ to include no animal ingredients and not just about animal testing!

  3. Have you heard of Davroe? It’s a vegan, cruelty-free hair care range from Australia. It’s an amazing range and the packaging is beautiful too!

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