Cruelty-Free Brands List

This includes confirming all approved brands:

• do not test their products or ingredients on animals
• do not commission or allow a third party to test on their behalf
• have verified with their raw material suppliers they do not test on animals
• do not sell their products in-stores in mainland China where post- or pre-market animal testing may be required by law

If you still don’t see them on any of our lists, feel free to reach out and we’ll look into the brand you’re requesting!

By that definition, these brands don’t test on animals so we would classify them as cruelty-free. 

However, we understand the animal cruelty involved in obtaining carmine, animal hair products, and other animal-derived ingredients, but at this time, our definition of cruelty-free does not extend to the use of animal ingredients.

That’s where our “vegan” label comes into play when classifying brands that don’t test on animals, as well as, don’t use any animal-derived ingredients or products.

Cosmetics can be made in China and be cruelty-free, just as long as they are not sold in retail stores within China, then they are not required to test on animals.

All of the brands listed in our Cruelty-Free Directory do not sell their products in retail stores in China**

Some of the brands listed may be selling their products through cross-border e-commerce channels which do not require animal testing in China.

If that’s the case, they are selling direct-to-consumer where a Chinese customer can purchase products online, and then it gets shipped directly to them which does not require animal testing. 

**Exceptions for cruelty-free brands part of Leaping Bunny’s China Pilot Project.

Although they claim their cosmetics are manufactured in China and no longer require animal tests — this only bypasses China’s pre-market animal testing requirements.

All cosmetics that are sold in stores in mainland China, whether domestically produced or imported, are still at risk of post-market animal testing which is often done without the company’s knowledge or consent.

We also understand that some consumers don’t mind buying from these brands and would still consider them to be cruelty-free. 

There is no right or wrong way to be cruelty-free, so we list these brands in our Cruelty-Free Directory making sure to note which ones are owned by a non-CF parent corporation so that you can decide for yourself whether you want to buy or boycott these brands. 

Note: If you try to sell or promote your MLM products in the comments section of our site, it will be deleted.