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You can find Essence cruelty-free products at Ulta, Target, and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Essence is Cruelty-Free
Essence 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 Essence to be Cruelty-Free.
Below is a screenshot of Essence’s official animal testing statement:
On essence’s website, they have a thorough statement of their animal testing policy that also includes a comprehensive list of FAQs regarding their cruelty-free status.
I love it when a cruelty-free brand is transparent about their animal testing policy like essence has done with their informative website!
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 Essence has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.
“We are not carried in any stores in mainland China”
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.
Essence is 100% Vegan
Essence is now 100% Vegan and has confirmed all of its products are vegan and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
The following is what’s currently stated on Essence’s website about its vegan claims:
“From 2021 on, 100% of our new produced products are vegan* – even our most popular bestsellers. Our entire range will be made up exclusively of vegan products in the future. And we will only re-release cosmetics that have no ingredients of animal origin. Promise.”
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 Essence’s products made?
“90% of essence products are made in Europe with some items made in other countries based on specialty parts.”
*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 Essence if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,
“Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out to us about such an important issue. At essence, we take the problem of child labor very seriously and feel it is our duty to ensure that no child labor is involved at any point in the supply chain of our products.
In order to be able to guarantee this, we devote our attention closely to the origin of our natural mica and communicate frequently with our suppliers, both private label manufacturers and raw material suppliers. Raw material suppliers that do not offer us the required degree of transparency are no longer taken into account when new projects are awarded.
We have been supporting the sustainable mining of natural mica since 2016 in cooperation with an NGO with the goal of supporting local social projects and improving the living conditions of the population and in particular those of the children in India. We also joined the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) in July 2017.We are dedicated to the shared goal of eradicating child labor and unacceptable working conditions within the beauty industry. We hope this has answered your concerns but please feel free to reach out with any further questions! :)”
I hope this article helped you to understand essence’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!
0 thoughts on “Essence”
thank you fore the list
I’m a tad confused, because for the volume hero mascara waterproof the ingredient list states it contains “cera alba (beeswax)” but it claims to be vegan. You also marked the lash princess sculpted volume mascara as being not vegan for containing beeswax, but in the ingredient list it says contains synthetic beeswax. Would you be able to clarify the discrepancies?
I think some of these mascaras listed as vegan are wrong as the essence website says some of them contain beeswax?