You can find Giovanni cruelty-free products at Target, Walmart, Well.ca, and on Amazon.

Giovanni is Cruelty-Free

Giovanni 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 Giovanni to be Cruelty-Free.

Below is a screenshot of Giovanni’s most current official animal testing statement:

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 Giovanni has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

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.

Giovanni 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 Giovanni, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of Giovanni products are vegan?

All of Giovanni’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. They also claim all of their products are vegan except their Magnetic Hair Care products and Hot Chocolate Sugar Scrub.

The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Giovanni’s official website about its vegan products:

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.

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 a company publicly addresses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

So I asked Giovanni if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“We ensure our Mica is ethically sourced by having transparency to a traceable supply chain. Our Mica supplier owns a mine located in the United States of America and gives us full transparency to the ethics of the working practices, traceability of the supply chain and being able to view the environmentally friendly processing procedures.”