Elate Cosmetics

Last Updated: January 13, 2022

How Ethical Is Elate Cosmetics?

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 Elate's ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Elate Cosmetics cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Elate Cosmetics’ policies.
Elate Cosmetics is cruelty-free. None of Elate Cosmetics’ ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
All of Elate Cosmetics products are 100% vegan and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
Elate Cosmetics is committed to sourcing fair trade and organic ingredients as possible and states “it is important to us that every person involved in the making of our cosmetics is treated ethically and fairly.”

In addition, they measure their waste outputs and set goals to decrease the amount of waste they produce in and out of the office every year.

Elate Cosmetics is known for their bamboo packaging which they claim are from FSC-certified bamboo suppliers and they work with a green certified, fair trade manufacturer in China to ensure the bamboo is water processed and never chemically treated.

Elate Cosmetics is committed to being a sustainable company with a goal of becoming the first zero waste cosmetic company. And aside from the points mentioned above, some more ways that make Elate sustainable is their Perfectly Imperfect Program, Refillable Products, B Corp Certification, and donating 2% of sales to charitable causes through their Social and Environmental Impact Program
Elate Cosmetics claims their mica is ethically-sourced with the use of child labor. And their mica suppliers are members of the Responsible Mica Initiative.
Elate Cosmetics offers several plastic-free and low-waste options. All of their products come exactly as shown on their website with no additional boxes or packaging. Some items come in seed paper envelopes that can be planted in your garden to sprout wildflowers.

Elate is also very upfront about exactly what each component of their packaging is made from and what can be recycled. They are committed to become a 100% plastic free and waste-free company.

About Elate Cosmetics

Elate Cosmetics creates ethically-made and sustainable cosmetics that care for your skin and our planet. Elate is committed to celebrating diversity and empowering everyone to use the best possible products for their daily rituals.
COMPANY BASED IN: Canada
PRODUCTS MADE IN: Canada
PRODUCTS: Makeup, Makeup Brushes, Skincare
CERTIFICATIONS: Leaping Bunny, Cruelty Free International

Elate Cosmetics

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

You can find Elate Cosmetics cruelty-free products at elatebeauty.com and EarthHero.

Elate Cosmetics is Cruelty-Free

Elate Cosmetics has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals, nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.

By our standards, we would consider Elate Cosmetics to be Cruelty-Free.

Elate Cosmetics Cruelty-Free Claims

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

Elate Cosmetics has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

“At this point in time, we do not have any partners in China nor do we ship to China but we are continuously working on expanding our shipping zones.”

As of May 1, 2021, some imported ordinary cosmetics can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, for the most part, animal testing is still legally required for most imported cosmetics in 2022.

Cruelty-Free Policies

Note that 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, and by any third parties.

Also, note that Cruelty-Free and Vegan don’t always mean the same thing.

Elate Cosmetics is 100% Vegan

Elate Cosmetics has confirmed all of its products are vegan and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

Elate Cosmetics Vegan Claims

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it usually means no animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products used 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 it’s sometimes 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’ve chosen to use were from non-animal sources.

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral that’s 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.

Thankfully, Elate Cosmetics states on their website:

“The mica used in Elate products is fair trade, and sourced from suppliers who are active members of the Responsible Mica Initiative.”


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

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