Hawaiian Tropic (Edgewell)

Last Updated: February 17, 2023

How Ethical Is Hawaiian Tropic (Edgewell)?

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 Hawaiian Tropic's ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Hawaiian Tropic cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Hawaiian Tropic’s policies.
Hawaiian Tropic is *cruelty-free, but Hawaiian Tropic is owned by Edgewell, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.
Not all of Hawaiian Tropic’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
Hawaiian Tropic claims itself as “sustainable suncare” because of its commitment to look for ways it can reduce materials, use more recycled/recyclable material, and help customers in their recycling efforts. Currently, some of their product packaging are labeled as either made with 25% or 45% recycled plastic. And Hawaiian Tropic claims its reducing its impact on the planet by banning the use of oxybenzone and octinoxate due to the potential damage they may have on the reefs. Other than those claims, I couldn’t find any other information on Hawaiian Tropic’s ethical ingredient sourcing practices or sustainable manufacturing initiatives.
Hawaiian Tropic’s products come in plastic packaging. Some of which are made with 25-45% recycled plastic.

About Hawaiian Tropic (Edgewell)

Hawaiian Tropic makes skin-loving, Hawaiian-inspired suncare products to help enhance the beauty in yourself and the world.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS: Sun Care, Skincare, Bath & Body Care
CERTIFICATIONS: PETA-Certified

Hawaiian Tropic (Edgewell)

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

Is Hawaiian Tropic Cruelty-Free?

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

Does Hawaiian Tropic Test on Animals?

When asking, does Hawaiian Tropic test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Hawaiian Tropic’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:

  • ✓ Hawaiian Tropic confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
  • ✓ Hawaiian Tropic confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
  • ✓ Hawaiian Tropic 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, Hawaiian Tropic is a *cruelty-free brand by our standards.

*Hawaiian Tropic is owned by Edgewell, a corporation that is NOT cruelty-free because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.

The decision is yours whether you want to support or boycott cruelty-free brands owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this. Do what you’re comfortable with. I just thought it was important to disclose that Edgewell owns Hawaiian Tropic.

What is Hawaiian Tropic’s Animal Testing Policy?

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Hawaiian Tropic’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

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 Hawaiian Tropic Certified Cruelty-Free?

Hawaiian Tropic is certified cruelty-free by PETA, but NOT Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free.

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 Hawaiian Tropic Vegan?

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

How to know which of Hawaiian Tropic products are vegan?

All of Hawaiian Tropic’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website.

Where to buy Hawaiian Tropic? Check out Target 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.


I hope this article helped you to understand Hawaiian Tropic’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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