Is Benefit Cruelty-Free?

☠️ Benefit Cosmetics is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Benefit allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, including when selling in stores in mainland China.

Benefit’s Animal Testing Policy

When asking, does Benefit test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Benefit’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.

To assess whether brands are cruelty-free, I always start with the company’s official animal testing policy on their website.

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

On Benefit’s website, they claim they do not test their products on animals and that the company and their parent company, LVMH group uses non-animal testing methods during the development of each of their product.

However, animal testing for cosmetics can happen at various stages including after product development like pre-market (before products hit the store shelves) or post-market (after products are sold).

In addition, animal testing is often done by others and not just the cosmetic company itself. This is why 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 any regulatory authorities.

So, what isn’t Benefit Cosmetics telling us in their initial animal testing statement?

Benefit recently updated their FAQ page with a bunch more drop-down Q&A’s. I almost missed these extra sections myself. But I’m glad I caught it. Because the truth about Benefit’s animal testing policy is hidden in one of these drop-down items.

Below is a screenshot of another section of their FAQ page:

Here, Benefit states China’s new animal testing regulations and how General Cosmetics can be imported into China without animal testing. This is true, but only if brands meet a set of preconditions first.

However, it’s not stated anywhere that Benefit has taken any steps to meet the above preconditions in order to avoid animal testing while selling in China.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Benefit) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2023.

Also, if you continue reading Benefit’s website, they go on and state, “however, the government authorities still require cosmetics companies to make “special” cosmetics available for testing.”

This means Benefit isn’t only selling “general” cosmetics that can be exported and sold in China without animal testing, but Benefit is also selling “special” cosmetics (defined as including hair dyes, hair perming products, freckle-removing products, sunscreens, and anti-hair loss products) that still require animal testing in 2023.

Taking the same graphic as above, I’ve highlighted and shown the case for “special” cosmetics sold in China and how they still require animal testing per China’s latest regulations.

Even with the latest changes to China’s animal testing regulations, Benefit continues to still sell its cosmetics in China under conditions that still require animal testing in 2023.

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

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

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Is Benefit Cosmetics Sold in China?

Below is a couple of screenshots I took from Benefit Cosmetics’ Chinese website, clearly showing several retailers carrying their products:

Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China under conditions where animal tests may be required. Unfortunately, Benfit Cosemtics 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 Benefit already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is Benefit Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

Since Benefit is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is substantiating or auditing Benefit’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

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

Yes. Benefit is owned by LVMH, parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2023.

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, Benefit is NOT cruelty-free, and neither is its parent corporation, LVMH.

Does Benefit Test on Animals?

To wrap up, Benefit allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, like when selling in China. Therefore, we would NOT consider Benefit Cosmetics to be a cruelty-free brand.

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

Is Benefit Vegan?

❌ Benefit is NOT vegan. Benefit does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Benefit engages in animal testing in some capacity, we wouldn’t consider any Benefit products 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 Benefit

Looking to switch to cruelty-free cosmetics? Here are some cruelty-free brands to check out:

• theBalm
• Milk Makeup
• Fenty Beauty *owned by LVMH
• Stila
• Tarte *owned by Kose