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You can find Farmacy cruelty-free products at farmacybeauty.com, Sephora, Beautylish, and on Amazon
Farmacy is *Cruelty-Free
Farmacy 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 Farmacy to be *Cruelty-Free.
2021 Update: P&G recently announced they signed an agreement to acquire Farmacy. P&G is NOT a cruelty-free corporation.
*Farmacy will be acquired by P&G, a corporation that is NOT cruelty-free because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.
It’s your choice whether you want to support or boycott cruelty-free brands owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this. I encourage you to do what you’re comfortable with, but I think it’s important to disclose that P&G will soon own Farmacy.
Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Farmacy’s website about its animal testing policy:
What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?
Farmacy has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.
“We do not, Nor do we sell to any countries where animal testing is required. (i.e. China)”
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.
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.
Farmacy 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 Farmacy, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.
How to know which of Farmacy products are vegan?
All of Farmacy’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website.
The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Farmacy’s official website about its vegan products:
Farmacy Vegan Product List
As of 2021, I will no longer be regularly updating this list of Farmacy’s vegan products as all of their vegan products are now clearly marked. Check their website for the most up-to-date and accurate information on which products are vegan or not.
The following Farmacy products are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
- Coconut Gel Sheet Mask – Brightening
- Coconut Gel Sheet Mask – Hydrating
- Dew It All Total Eye Cream with Echinacea GreenEnvy™
- Freshen Up All-Natural Deodorant
- Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm
- Green Screen Daily MineralSunscreen SPF 30
- Lip Bloom
- New Day Gentle Exfoliating Grains
- Skin Dew Hydrating Essence & Setting Spray
- Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm with Echinacea GreenEnvy™
- Very Cherry Bright 15% Clean Vitamin C Serum
- Very Cherry Clean Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm
Not Vegan – Farmacy
Below is a list of
- Clean Bee Ultra Gentle Facial Cleanser – not vegan
- Honey Butter Beeswax Lip Balm – not vegan
- Honey Butter Body – not vegan
- Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer with Echinacea GreenEnvy™ – not vegan
- Honey Grail – not vegan
- Honeymoon Glow Night Serum – not vegan
- Honey Potion Renewing Antioxidant Hydration Mask with Echinacea GreenEnvy™ – not vegan
- Honey Savior All-in-One Skin Repair Salve with Echinacea GreenEnvy™ Honey – not vegan
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 Farmacy’s products made?
I asked Farmacy where their products are manufactured and they told me:
“Our Farmacy products are made in the USA and Korea.”
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 Farmacy if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,
“We strive to work with suppliers who are both environmentally conscious and treat their employees fairly. As Mica is a raw ingredient, it may be sourced from several mines before being packaged with a supplier. While we would never condone the use of child labor, we thank you for bringing this up. We’ve reached out to our product and sourcing teams to ask if they have any further details or certifications from the supplier we work with to determine the mines they receive their mica from, and the labor practices in place there.”
Farmacy did not specifically address where their mica is sourced from and how they audit or trace to ensure no child labor was involved in mining their mica.
I hope this article helped you to understand Farmacy’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!
