Is Dior Cruelty-Free?

☠️ Dior is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Dior allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, including when selling in stores in mainland China.

Dior’s Animal Testing Policy

When asking, does Dior test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Dior’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.

To assess whether brands are cruelty-free, I always start with the company’s official animal testing policy on their website.

Dior claims on its website that they do not test on animals, however, this is not enough information for us to classify Dior or any other brand as being cruelty-free to our standards.

See below for a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Dior’s website:

Additionally, animal testing for cosmetics can happen at various stages of product development, including at the ingredient level, and is often done by others and not the cosmetic company itself. This is why 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, or any third parties.

So I reached out to Dior to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test, not just their finished products but their ingredients, on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing (like in mainland China).

And Dior responded by saying:

“We do not test our products on animals nor do we permit others to do so except where it is required by law.  We are deeply committed to the elimination of animal testing and we are playing a leading role in developing alternative methods through our support of the “Fund for Alternatives to Animal Testing”  in the United States and the Opal Program in France.

*Yes, we sell our products to China.“

Policies stating, “except where it is required by law,” usually imply the company is selling its products in mainland China. That’s because cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals.

Is Dior Makeup Sold in China?

Dior confirmed in their email response to me that their products are sold in China.

I also found Dior’s Chinese website and their store locator feature shows their products are indeed sold in stores in China, see below for a couple of screenshots:

However, it’s not stated anywhere that Dior has taken any steps to meet the above preconditions in order to avoid animal testing while selling in China.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Dior) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2023.

Because Dior has decided to sell in mainland China stores, they must consent and pay to have their products tested on animals. That’s why most cosmetics brands selling in mainland China cannot be considered cruelty-free in 2023.

Although Dior may not be conducting these animal tests themselves, they knowingly allow Chinese authorities to test their products on animals in order to sell in China.

For those reasons, we would not consider Dior to be cruelty-free by our standards.

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Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China under conditions where animal tests may be required. Unfortunately, Dior refuses to do the same and therefore cannot be considered cruelty-free.

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, or by any third parties, including when required by law.

See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Dior already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is Dior Certified Cruelty-Free?

Dior is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.

Since Dior is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is substantiating or auditing Dior’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

Is Dior Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?

Yes. Dior is owned by LVMH, parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2023.

Some cruelty-free consumers may choose to purchase and support cruelty-free brands owned by animal-tested parent corporations as they hope it will convince the parent company to become cruelty-free.

But in this case, Dior is NOT cruelty-free, and neither is its parent corporation, LVMH.

Does Dior Test on Animals?

To wrap up, Dior allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, like when selling in China. Therefore, we would NOT consider Dior to be a cruelty-free brand.

Currently, Dior is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.

Is Dior Vegan?

❌ Dior is NOT vegan. Dior does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Dior engages in animal testing in some capacity, we wouldn’t consider any Dior products vegan anyways.

In order for products to be considered vegan by ethical elephant’s standards, the products and their ingredients must not be tested on animals anywhere in the world. Also, they must not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Dior:

Looking to switch to cruelty-free brands? Here are some options that are similar to Dior:

• Hourglass *owned by Unilever
• Charlotte Tilbury *owned by Puig
• Westman Atelier
• Chantecaille *owned by Beiersdorf
• ILIA *owned by Clarins

and check out our list of high-end cruelty-free makeup brands!