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Whether you’re shopping for a cruelty-free, vegan cologne for yourself or for a gift, it can be hard to navigate to find one that wasn’t tested on animals and doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients.
Most high-end designer cologne and fragrances for men are unfortunately not cruelty-free. Many of them are actually licensed to corporations that do test on animals like:
- Coty owns licenses for Burberry, Lacoste
- LVMH owns licenses for Dior and Givenchy
- Shiseido owns licenses for Hermes, Narciso Rodriguez, and Dolce & Gabbana
- L’Oreal owns licenses for Giorgio Armani, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Viktor & Rolf, and YSL
But I did manage to find some cruelty-free brands that offer a range of cologne and fragrances for men. Below is a list of fragrance brands that don’t test on animals. Not all of the cruelty-free brands are vegan so I made sure to note which ones are entirely 100% vegan.
Cruelty-Free Brands
The following fragrance brands don’t test on animals and are cruelty-free:
- Aesop *owned by L’Oreal – 100% Vegan
- Avril
- By Rosie Jane – 100% Vegan
- Chantecaille *owned by Beiersdorf
- Clean Perfume – 100% Vegan
- Commodity – 100% Vegan
- DedCool – 100% Vegan
- Dolma Fragrances – 100% Vegan
- Duke Cannon
- Every Man Jack
- Hawthorne
- Histoires de Parfums1
- Kayali
- Lake & Skye – 100% Vegan
- Living Libations
- Malin + Goetz
- Molton Brown *owned by Kao
- Murdock London – 100% Vegan
- PHLUR – 100% Vegan
- Rituals
- Scotch Porter – 100% Vegan
- Tater Rounds Beauty – 100% Vegan
- The Body Shop
- The Nue Co.
- Trish McEvoy
- Yardley London – 100% Vegan
Animal-Tested Brands
Below is a list of fragrance brands that are NOT cruelty-free:
- Acqua di Parma
- Atelier Cologne
- Azzaro
- Burberry
- BVLGARI
- BYREDO
- Carolina Herrera
- Chanel
- Christian Louboutin
- Clinique
- Diesel
- Dior
- Diptyque
- Dolce & Gabbana
- Ferragamo
- Frederic Malle
- Fresh
- Giorgio Armani
- Givenchy
- Gucci
- Hermès
- Hugo Boss
- Issey Miyake
- Jo Malone
- John Varvatos
- Jimmy Choo
- Kiehl’s
- Lacoste
- Maison Margeila
- Moschino
- Mugler
- Narciso Rodriguez
- Prada
- Rabanne
- Ralph Lauren
- Sisley Paris
- Tiffany & Co.
- Tom Ford
- Valentino
- Versace
- Viktor & Rolf
- Yves Saint Laurent
1Histoires de Parfums states their perfumes are in agreement with the EU laws which forbid all ingredients of animal origins but they don’t explicitly call their fragrances ‘vegan’.
Vegan Cologne & Fragrances
In addition to animal testing, some cologne and fragrances may also contain animal products, making them not vegan. Some animal-derived ingredients or by-products used in cologne include musk, civet, ambergris, and castoreum.
Trying to figure out which cologne or fragrances are vegan can be a bit tricky as manufacturers are not required to disclose every ingredient that goes into their fragrances because it’s considered a “trade secret”.
But not to worry because I found some cruelty-free and vegan cologne that wasn’t tested on animals and does not contain any animal ingredients!
Whether you prefer woody, fresh, or spicy scents, we have something for every taste. Each cologne in our guide is made from plant-based ingredients, ensuring a high-quality fragrance that will leave a lasting impression.
Not only will you smell amazing, but you will also feel good knowing that your choice of cologne is in line with your ethical principles
Malin+Goetz
Not all of Malin+Goetz fragrances are vegan as some contain musk. But some Malin+Goetz cologne are labelled as vegan like their Cannabis Eau de Parfum which was inspired by traditional apothecary ingredients and is formulated for everyday wear and gender-neutral appeal.
Molton Brown*
If you want a high-end vegan cologne that looks and feel luxurious, Molton Brown is my top pick! Although not all of Molton Brown’s fragrances are vegan, they do mark some of their cologne for men as being vegan in the ‘detail’ section of their product description.
*Note: Molton Brown is cruelty-free but they’re owned by a parent company (Kao) that is NOT cruelty-free.
Scotch Porter
All of Scotch Porter fragrances for men are 100% vegan and they currently have four scents available. Scotch Porter also states, “natural musk was replaced by Musk Molecules since the natural version was cruel and not-sustainable.”
CLEAN
All of CLEAN‘s fragrances are cruelty-free, vegan, and sustainably sourced. You can find a range of Clean’s vegan cologne like Sueded Oud, available at Sephora. I especially love the look of their Clean Reserve fragrance line that comes in a sustainable wood cap made from Spain.
The Body Shop
Not all of The Body Shop’s fragrances for men are vegan. Only some have the ‘vegan’ label or use the vegan filter on their website to figure out which of The Body Shop’s cologne are vegan. Like their Arber Eau De Toilette which is described as an outdoorsy scent that’s clean and sophisticated.
Aesop
Tacit by Aesop is described as a contemporary interpretation of a classic cologne. Inspired by the Mediterranean coastline as well as the clean notes found in more traditional cologne, this blissful marriage of tradition and modernity is worthy of your favourite modern gentleman.
Yardley London
Yardley London line of Gentleman fragrances are all vegan. The Yardley Gentleman Classic’s scent is described as fresh citrus and spicy blend of cardamom & black pepper interlaced with a soft heart of floral notes, resting on a luxurious accord of sandalwood, musk, amber and a sweet hint of white chocolate.
17 thoughts on “List of Cruelty-Free & Vegan Cologne & Fragrances for Men | 2023 Update!”
Are there and type of samples of any vegan colognes that you all or anyone provide?
Great list! You said the Yardley London line is all vegan, but the ‘Gentleman Classic Eau de Parfum’ contains musk. How do you know that this musk is not animal-derived? Because musk is mostly derived from animals, I thought.
Hi Feden, good question! Yardley London recently told me that all of their products are 100% vegan so I honestly just took their word for it. But I have reached out to them to verify the source of the musk in their Eau de Parfum. I’ll update you and this post once I hear back from them!
Hi Feden, I heard back from Yardley London and they told me:
“…regarding the source of our Eau De Parfums. We can confirm that our ingredients are from synthetic sources and not animal-derived.”
Great question, I had the same one. I just read on the Scotch Porter website that they don’t use animal musk, they produce the same chemical synthetically. It’s common in cosmetics, and also in food additives! Synthetic production is just another way to create the same molecule (which a living body makes through biological production).
So if a product is specifically labelled “vegan” or “no animal ingredients” and does contain musk, or castoreum, ambergris, etc. then don’t worry. You can be sure it’s a synthetically produced version of that molecule: because the cost to the business would be way too high for them to lie.
I was under the impression all new scents containing “musk” were no longer from animal-sources as the musk deer it protected by CITES and the “musk” used is now a mixture of synthetic and plant-sourced materials such as angelica, and the term could be said to be more descriptive than strictly scientific.
Calvin Klein now have a vegan-friendly fragrance called ‘CK Everyone’. I bought it and it smells very nice. It’s a talking point when people like it, so it gives me the opportunity to tell them why I chose a cruelty-free one.
Rather than attempt to boycott brands, why don’t we support them when they produce vegan-friendly products?
By and large the “non cruelty free/non vegan”
groups you mention only have that labeling because some of the countries they sell to do not have explicit laws against animal testing. This doesn’t mean all these companies with fragrances are actively using animals in their testing. Finding any evidence that they are is not surprisingly absent from your post. It is much more common for cosmetics to be tested on animals, not fragrances. This is a ignorant and blatantly misleading article just to push some shitty “vegan” companies you’re clearly in bed with. Do better research.
Drew, do you mind citing your evidentiary sources that prove all of the fragrance companies are cruelty free and vegan friendly? I want to do the right thing and avoid supporting animal testing, but I’ve been using the testers at my local pharmacy and am wanting to buy a couple of nice fragrances. If you can prove that the fragrances houses *don’t* test on animals, I can purchase with a clear conscience. Cheers mate!