Linné is Cruelty-Free

Linné 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 Linné to be Cruelty-Free.

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, or any third parties.

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

Linné is Not 100% Vegan

‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.

In the case of Linné, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of Linné’s products are vegan?

In an email response, Linné informed me that all of their products are vegan except for their Body and Lip Balms which contain beeswax.

“Our Smooth Body Balm and Nourish Lip Balm are not vegan. They contain responsibly harvested organic beeswax. The rest of the products are 100% vegan! We are also leaping bunny certified!”

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.

So I asked Linné if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“Thank you so much for your concern. It is a horrific global issue and one we care about greatly. Like with all our ingredients we are incredibly selective in our sourcing to ensure all ingredients support planetary health and worker welfare – it’s why our products are not cheap – they have less hidden cost to people and the planet. Only one product contains mica and that is our new LAC ROSE which has been supplied in partnership with a pigment supplier who cares as much as we do. We pay a premium on this ingredient to help collectively support the costs of 3rd party verification. They supply us documentation but of course cannot themselves be on the ground 24/7. Nothing is a guarantee but they have established relationships exclusively with mines that share our values. We are considering switching to synthesized micas to mitigate all potential concern but in the meantime please know that we would never support any operation that employs children or anyone in an unsafe working condition. Thank you again for asking, we will make this more clear on our website as this is important information.”

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