AERIN is NOT Cruelty-Free!

AERIN allows its products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law including when selling in stores in mainland China.

In addition, AERIN is owned by Estee Lauder, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.

AERIN’s Animal Testing Policy

While researching to learn more about AERIN’s cruelty-free status, I couldn’t find the brand’s official animal testing policy anywhere on its website.

So I reached out to AERIN to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test their products/ingredients on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing (like in mainland China).

And AERIN responded by saying:

“Thank you for contacting us at AERIN.com. We appreciate the interest.

All AERIN beauty items are manufactured and distributed by Estee Lauder. For your reference below is a link to their contact information. Please reach out to them directly for further assistance.”

Based on their response, AERIN follows the same animal testing policy as its parent company, Estee Lauder.

And Estee Lauder states in its animal testing policy, “We do not test our products or ingredients on animals, or ask others to test on our behalf, except where required by law”.

Policies stating “except where 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.

So, is AERIN sold in China where animal testing is mandatory?

Is AERIN Sold in China?

Yes, according to this article, AERIN is sold in China.

But Doesn’t China No Longer Test on Animals?

Companies can bypass China’s pre-market animal testing by choosing to manufacture their ordinary or general cosmetics in China, but it’s not stated anywhere that AERIN has taken this route.

Additionally, the possibility of post-market animal testing is not completely ruled out and may be conducted on some cosmetics sold in physical stores in China.

As of May 1, 2021, cosmetic companies can also export and sell their ordinary or general cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet a set of preconditions first. However, meeting these conditions has proven difficult, and it’s still unclear what exactly is accepted according to the new regulations. So there’s no word yet of any company that has successfully done so.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like AERIN) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2022.

Because AERIN 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 2022.

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

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

Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China because of its animal testing laws. Unfortunately, AERIN 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 AERIN already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is AERIN Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

Because AERIN is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is looking into or substantiating AERIN’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

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

Yes. AERIN is owned by Estee Lauder, a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2022.

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, AERIN is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Estee Lauder.

Is AERIN Cruelty-Free?

To sum up, by choosing to sell in mainland China, AERIN must have its products tested on animals. Therefore, we would NOT consider AERIN to be a cruelty-free brand.

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

Is AERIN Vegan?

AERIN does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since AERIN engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t consider anything sold or produced by AERIN to be 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 AERIN

Looking to switch to cruelty-free products? Check out our list of Cruelty-Free & Vegan Fragrances at Sephora!