You can find Australian Gold cruelty-free products at Target and Amazon.

Australian Gold is Cruelty-Free

Australian Gold 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 Australian Gold to be Cruelty-Free.

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Australian Gold’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

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.

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

How to know which of Australian Gold’s products are vegan?

Australian Gold has confirmed all of their sun care products are vegan, and although most of their other product lines have been reformulated to be vegan, the company told me there are some items that are not vegan.

Below are a couple of responses I received from Australian Gold:

“Our sun care products are vegan and do not contain animal derived ingredients”

Since Australian Gold also sells other products, and not just sun care products, I asked whether their other product lines are vegan and they told me,

“Most of the Australian Gold product re formulated to be vegan but a handful are not. It would be best to speak with your local tanning salon or provider of the products”

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it usually means no 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 Australian Gold’s products made?

I asked Australian Gold where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“Australian Gold  products are manufactured in the USA.”

I hope this article helped you to understand Australian Gold’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!