By Terry is NOT Cruelty-Free!

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

By Terry’s Animal Testing Policy

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

So I reached out to By Terry 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).

“By Terry don’t test on animals and is against animal testing. Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 prohibits animal testing on finished products and alternative methods have been set up in order to replace these tests. BY TERRY complies with this regulation as well as all current law texts in the countries where we export.

We recently made the decision as a brand to enter into the China market due to high consumer demand. We do not wish to exclude our loyal Chinese customers from being able to purchase our products. We are a familial company, not part of a large cosmetic group, and we are working hard to partner with big associations in order to make China change its rules on animal testing.”

Based on the response I received from By Terry, the company admits to selling its products in China and allowing them to be tested on animals when required by law.

Unfortunately, that means we would not consider By Terry to be a cruelty-free company. That’s because cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals.

Is By Terry Sold in China?

By Terry confirmed in their email response that they DO sell in mainland China where animal testing is required by law.

But Doesn’t China No Longer Tests 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 By Terry 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 By Terry) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2022.

Because By Terry 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 By Terry 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 By Terry 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, By Terry 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, and by any third parties, including when required by law.

See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since By Terry already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is By Terry Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

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

Is By Terry Cruelty-Free?

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

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

Is By Terry Vegan?

By Terry claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because By Terry engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t classify anything sold or produced by By Terry 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.

By Terry Cruelty-Free Alternatives

If you’re looking for similar products to By Terry, but from brands that don’t test on animals and are cruelty-free, we recommend trying:

• Tatcha *owned by Unilever
• Jouer
• Josie Maran
• Koh Gen Do
• Chantecaille