GLAMGLOW is NOT Cruelty-Free!

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

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

GLAMGLOW’s Animal Testing Policy

On GLAMGLOW’s website, they claim they don’t test their products on animals except when required by law.

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

Policies stating, “unless required by law,” 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 GLAMGLOW Sold in China?

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

Below is a screenshot I took from Sephora’s Chinese website, clearly showing they stock and sell GLAMGLOW products:

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

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

Is GLAMGLOW Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

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

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

Yes. GLAMGLOW 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, GLAMGLOW is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Estee Lauder.

Is GLAMGLOW Cruelty-Free?

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

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

Is GLAMGLOW Vegan?

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

I also noticed Sephora listing some of GLAMGLOW products in their “Vegan Skincare” category but note that GLAMGLOW is NOT cruelty-free. GLAMGLOW products are tested on animals.

I’m assuming Sephora is labeling products as “vegan” when they’re formulated without any animal ingredients or by-products. But “Vegan” Cosmetics should also consider whether the products or its ingredients were tested on animals, anywhere in the world.

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to GLAMGLOW:

Looking for a cruelty-free option to GLAMGLOW, here are some of our recommendations:

• Summer Fridays – 100% Vegan
• Drunk Elephant *owned by Shiseido – some vegan options
• Biossance – 100% Vegan
• Tata Harper *owned by Amorepacific – some vegan options
• Herbivore – 100% Vegan