Darphin is NOT Cruelty-Free!

Darphin allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law.

In addition, Darphin is owned by Estee Lauder, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.

Darphin’s Animal Testing Policy

On Darphin’s website, they state their parent company, Estee Lauder’s animal testing policy.

Estee Lauder (and inherently Darphin) state in their policy that they don’t test their products or ingredients on animals, except where required by law.

Below is what’s currently stated on Darphin’s website, I highlighted in pink some of the important points:

Based on their statement, we now know that Estee Lauder owns Darphin. And Darphin has the same animal testing policy as Estee Lauder where both state they make an exception to allow their products to be tested on animals if specifically required by law.

Truly cruelty-free brands will never allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals. Cruelty-free companies have a policy where if the law requires them to test on animals then they will refuse to sell their products under those conditions.

For example, imported cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by Chinese laws to be tested on animals upon registration. Therefore, truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell in China in order to remain committed to their no animal testing policy.

Unfortunately, Darphin and Estee Lauder state they will allow their products and ingredients to be tested on animals if the law requires it. For those reasons, Darphin is NOT cruelty-free.

Cruelty-Free Policies

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 Darphin allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is Darphin Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

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

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

Yes. Darphin is owned by Estee Lauder, 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, Darphin is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Estee Lauder.

Is Darphin Cruelty-Free?

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

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

Is Darphin Vegan?

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

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

• Perricone MD
• Omorovicza
• Sunday Riley
• Tata Harper *owned by Amorepacific
• Dr. Dennis Gross

or check out our list of cruelty-free & vegan luxury high-end skincare brands!