COSRX

Last Updated: January 17, 2023

How Ethical Is COSRX?

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 COSRX's ethics and initiatives.

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Ethical Analysis

Is COSRX cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on COSRX’s policies.
COSRX is cruelty-free. None of COSRX’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals anywhere in the world.
Not all of COSRX’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
COSRX does not claim or market itself as a sustainable company.
COSRX claims their mica is ethically sourced without child labor. See their ethical mica mining policy here.
Some of COSRX products come in plastic packaging and/or contain plastic components. And I couldn’t find anything stating they’re working on reducing their use of virgin plastic in their product packaging.

About COSRX

In 2015, COSRX listened to your voice and created a skin-friendly Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser to introduce you to a healthy way to care for the skin, and to help enhance your overall beauty lifestyle.
COMPANY BASED IN: Korea
PRODUCTS MADE IN: Korea
PRODUCTS: Skincare
CERTIFICATIONS: N/A

COSRX

This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Is COSRX Cruelty-Free?

🐰 COSRX is a cruelty-free brand. None of COSRX’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. COSRX has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included in our Cruelty-Free Directory.

Does COSRX Test on Animals?

When asking, does COSRX test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of COSRX’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.

In our research, we discovered the following:

  • ✓ COSRX confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
  • ✓ COSRX confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
  • ✓ COSRX confirmed they do not allow or sell their products under conditions where animal testing is required by law

By meeting all of our Cruelty-Free Criteria, COSRX is a truly cruelty-free brand by our standards.

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

COSRX has confirmed they only sell their products online and not in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

“And our products are sold via cross border e-commerce which is Tmall.com in China.”

With the current changes to China’s animal testing laws, some cosmetics sold in China can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, without meeting those conditions, animal testing is still legally required for most cosmetics sold in China in 2023.

Is COSRX Certified Cruelty-Free?

COSRX is not certified by a third-party cruelty-free accreditation like Leaping Bunny or PETA.

Although COSRX is not certified cruelty-free, the company has confirmed to us it is a truly cruelty-free brand by meeting all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist.

Note that companies can remain to be cruelty-free without an official cruelty-free certification. Some companies may choose not to be certified cruelty-free because of cost, privacy, or lack of resources.

Cruelty-Free Policies 2023

Just because a brand claims it is ‘Cruelty-Free,’ doesn’t always mean that’s the case.

That’s because 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, or any third parties.

How We Assess Cruelty-Free Policies

Since 2015, the start of my blog, I’ve been emailing companies asking about their animal testing policies and cruelty-free commitments.

And based on the responses I receive from companies, I’ll research to find any supporting facts needed before concluding whether the brand should be classified as “Cruelty-Free,” “Animal-Tested,” or “Grey Area – Unclear Policies.”

☕️ Every week, I continue to reach out to new brands while trying my best to keep current brands updated. If you found any of my posts or guides helpful, consider Buying Me A Coffee! I would greatly appreciate it! ❤️

What about Vegan?

Just because something is called Cruelty-Free, doesn’t always mean it’s Vegan. And vice versa.

Cruelty-Free only refers to no animal testing, while Vegan means formulated without animal products.

Some brands are Cruelty-Free, but not Vegan.

And some are Vegan, but not Cruelty-Free.

Another important distinction to know is, Vegan in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand is 100% Vegan or a specific product is Vegan.

Is COSRX Vegan?

⭐️ COSRX is NOT an entirely vegan brand. But COSRX offers some vegan options that are free of animal products.

How to know which of COSRX’s products are vegan?

All of COSRX’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. See below for an example.

How to know which of COSRX products are vegan?

Where to buy COSRX? Check out Ulta, Dermstore, and Amazon!

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But Vegan is generally used to mean formulated without animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products 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 unless a brand explicitly labels its ingredients or product as Vegan, it’s often 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 chose were from non-animal sources.

Where are COSRX’s products made?

COSRX states on its website,

“COSRX creates effective, affordable skin care lines that are 100% made and manufactured in Korea.”

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.

Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

So I asked COSRX if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“As we checked with our manufacture, mica is sourced from China and child labor issues are not relevant.”


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

If you found this helpful, consider Buying Me a Coffee. So that I can continue to keep this site running and updated.

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