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Jones Road’s Cruelty-Free Status is Unclear
Jones Road was unable to provide clarification on if their ingredient suppliers test on animals, if they ask others to test on their behalf, and if they allow their products/ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law.
As a result, we are unable to classify Jones Road as being truly cruelty-free or animal-tested. Therefore, Jones Road is listed as Grey Area – Brands with Unclear Policies.
Jones Road’s Animal Testing Policy
Jones Road claims on its website that its products are cruelty-free however, this is not enough information for us to classify Jones Road or any other brand as being cruelty-free to our standards.
Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Jones Road’s website:
Jones Road’s claims that their products are cruelty-free is not enough information for us to determine the brand is animal-test-free because there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.‘ It can mean different things to different people.
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.
So I reached out to Jones Road to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test, not just their finished products but their ingredients, on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing (like in mainland China).
And Jones Road responded by saying:
“All Jones Road products are cruelty-free. We’re also clean, gluten-free and non-GMO.
We follow guidelines set by the E.U. and eliminate over 2,700 potentially harmful ingredients from our formulas, including phthalates, sulfates, petrolatum, PEGs, cyclic silicones, EDTA, or BPA. For more information on our formulations, check out our website here: www.jonesroadbeauty.com/pages/about.
We do have Beeswax in some of our formulas – used in our Brow Pencils, Miracle Balms, and Cool Gloss (ethically sourced and cruelty-free).
As is the Carmine used in:
- Cool Gloss in Boysenberry, Rosy, Nude Beige, Golden Shimmer, and Pink Gold Shimmer
- Just a Sec
- Sparkle Wash in Barely Pink and Gilded
- The Best Eyeshadow in Patina and Penny
- Best Pencil in Navy, Brown, and Violet
We do not sell to China nor do we received any ingredients from China!”
In Jones Road’s response, they restated that their products are “Cruelty-Free” and they do not sell in China, while also mentioning they follow EU’s guidelines and their products are free from the notorious 2,700+ harmful ingredients.
Jones Road failed to address if they ask or commission any third parties to test on animals for them, if they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law, and if they ensure their ingredient suppliers also don’t test on animals.
So, I responded back to their email asking for clarification and this is the conversation:
ethical elephant: “Thanks for your response. Since the term “cruelty-free” is unregulated and the EU’s animal testing ban may have some loopholes… I was wondering if you could please clarify whether Jones Road verifies with all of its ingredient suppliers that they don’t test on animals and that the company also doesn’t allow its products or ingredients to be tested on animals where required by law?”
Jones Road: “Our products are all made cruelty free
Please let us know if you have any other questions.”
Jones Road double downs with their claims that their products are “Cruelty-Free” again.
At this point, Jones Road has not met all of the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist. See below.
Is Jones Road Certified Cruelty-Free?
As of October 2022, Jones Road is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.
Because Jones Road is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is looking into or substantiating Jones Road’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.
Is Jones Road Cruelty-Free?
Jones Road failed to address some of the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist including:
- the brand does not commission or allow third parties to test on its behalf
- the brand verifies with all of its suppliers to ensure they don’t test on animals as well
- the brand does not allow its products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law
Because Jones Road did not provide us with clarification for the above, Jones Road is on our Grey Area Brands List – Brands with Unclear Policies.
Is Jones Road Vegan?
Jones Road claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because Jones Road’s cruelty-free status is unclear, we wouldn’t consider anything sold or produced by Jones Road to be vegan at this time.
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.
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.
