Bourjois (Coty)

Last Updated: February 25, 2024

How Ethical Is Bourjois (Coty)?

Make a positive impact by supporting companies with the same values and ethics as what matters most to you. To navigate and find ethical brands, here’s a summary of Bourjois’ ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Bourjois cruelty-free or vegan? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Bourjois’s policies.
Bourjois is NOT Cruelty-Free. Bourjois engages in animal testing by allowing its products to be animal-tested.

Bourjois is also owned by Coty, a parent corporation that does engage in animal testing.
Yes, Bourjois sells its products in stores in mainland China under conditions where animal testing is still legally required.
Bourjois claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because Bourjois engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t classify anything sold or produced by Bourjois to be vegan.

Bourjois (Coty)

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Bourjois is NOT Cruelty-Free!

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

In addition, Bourjois is owned by Coty, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.

Bourjois’ Animal Testing Policy

On Bourjois’ website, they claim their products are not tested on animals and then go on to state their parent company, Coty’s animal testing policy.

Coty (and inherently Bourjois) state in their policy, “it is known that China is currently the only country that still requires mandatory animal testing on all cosmetics imported into the country.”

See below for a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Bourjois’ website:

Policies stating China’s animal testing laws 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.

Is Bourjois Sold in China?

In my research, I discovered that Bourjois products are indeed sold in stores in mainland China.

Below is a screenshot of Bourjois store locator showing results in mainland China:

Bourjois Sold in China; Cannot Be Cruelty-Free!

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 Bourjois 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 Bourjois) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2022.

Because Bourjois 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 Bourjois 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 Bourjois 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, Bourjois 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 Bourjois already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Complete Cruelty-Free Checklist

Is Bourjois Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

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

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

Yes. Bourjois is owned by Coty, 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, Bourjois is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Coty.

Is Bourjois Cruelty-Free?

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

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

Is Bourjois Vegan?

Bourjois claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because Bourjois engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t classify anything sold or produced by Bourjois 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. Also, they must not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Bourjois

Looking to switch to cruelty-free brands? Here are some cruelty-free and vegan-friendly options that are similar to Bourjois:

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