Is Almay Cruelty-Free?

Almay is NOT Cruelty-free. Almay pays and allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law.

In addition, Almay is owned by Revlon, a parent company that is also not cruelty-free.

Almay Cruelty-Free Claims

On Almay’s website, they claim its products are “cruelty-free”. The brand also declares they do not test its products on animals and that they substantiate the safety of its products using “the humane and modern way.”

However, this is not enough information for us to classify any brand as being cruelty-free to our standards.

Below is a screenshot taken from Almay’s website of their “cruelty-free” claims:

So I emailed the brand asking if any of its products or ingredients are tested on animals. Either by the company itself, commissioned to a third party to test on its behalf, or by any of its suppliers. They responded with their parent company, Revlon’s policy.

Here’s a snippet of the response I received when I emailed Almay:

“Revlon does not conduct animal testing and has not done so for decades. We comprehensively test all of our products using the most technologically advanced methods available to ensure they are both innovative and safe to use. We believe that all women should have the opportunity to express themselves through makeup and we sell our products in many markets around the world. Regulatory authorities in some countries conduct independent testing in order to satisfy their own mandatory registration requirements and a limited number of these countries have not yet adopted alternative testing methods. While Revlon complies with the requirements for safety in all of these countries, we continue to collaborate with other companies to advocate for the adoption of alternative testing methods and the elimination of animal testing around the world.“

To clarify, Revlon is not cruelty-free. Their products are sold in mainland China. As a result, Revlon and some of its subsidiary brands, allow their products to be tested on animals by Chinese officials.

It’s misleading that Almay is claiming to be cruelty-free now when they can’t seem to clarify or differentiate themselves from Revlon’s policy that clearly states they DO test on animals when required by law.

Additionally, note that in 2016, Almay’s animal testing policy used to state its products were sold in countries that may require animal tests. This had implied that Almay was selling its products in mainland China where animal testing is required by law for most imported cosmetics.

Below is a screenshot that I had taken from Almay’s website in 2016:

Is Almay Sold in China?

I couldn’t find any sources or proof of Almay currently selling in China in 2021. They may have decided to stop for the time being.

But it’s highly unlikely that the reason they stopped selling in China was because of the country’s animal testing requirements.

So at this time, we wouldn’t consider Almay to be cruelty-free because of their unclear policy and shady history.

They may have changed the wording of their animal testing statement and in their marketing materials. But it doesn’t look like they’ve actually changed anything in their animal testing policy IRL.

Almay also remains on PETA’s List of Brands that Do Test on Animals in 2021.

Summary: Almay is NOT Cruelty-Free!

To sum up, Almay allows their products to be tested on animals when required by law. Therefore I would not consider Almay to be a cruelty-free brand.

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

Is Almay Vegan?

Since we would not consider Almay to be cruelty-free as their products are tested on animals when required by law, we also wouldn’t consider anything sold or manufactured by Almay to be vegan.

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, and also must not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

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