Lip Smacker’s Cruelty-Free Status is Unclear

Lip Smacker was unable to provide clarification on whether they allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law and whether they sell in countries that require animal testing.

As a result, we are unable to classify Lip Smacker as being truly cruelty-free or animal-tested. Therefore, Lip Smacker is listed as Grey Area – Brands with Unclear Policies.

Lip Smacker’s Animal Testing Policy

Lip Smacker claims on its website that they do not test on animals and none of its materials are tested on animals. However, this is not enough information for us to classify Lip Smacker or any other brand as being cruelty-free to our standards.

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Lip Smacker’s website:

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.

So I reached out to Lip Smacker to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test their products/ingredients on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing (like in mainland China).

And Lip Smacker responded by saying:

“We believe strongly in our commitment to upholding the safety and health of our furred and feathered friends. We will, at no time, engage in cruel animal testing, nor will we do business with any company that uses animals for testing. Our products are carefully formulated using the latest scientific methodologies and coordinated with professional dermatologists, who have invited persons to participate willingly in product trials.”

Based on Lip Smacker’s response, the company did not address and answer whether they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law and whether they sell in any countries that may require animal testing (like China).

For those reasons, we are unable to classify Lip Smacker as being a truly cruelty-free brand or animal-tested.

Cruelty-Free Policies

See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Lip Smacker did not address the last two criteria, we cannot classify the brand as being truly cruelty-free at this time.

Is Lip Smacker Certified Cruelty-Free?

Lip Smacker is certified cruelty-free by PETA, but not Leaping Bunny.

PETA’s cruelty-free standards are not as strict as Leaping Bunny’s. For example, PETA does not require brands to be re-accredited once they’re approved and do not require brands to submit documents from their suppliers and manufacturers to ensure compliance with their cruelty-free standards.

Additionally, PETA allows some of its approved cruelty-free brands to sell in China where animal testing may be conducted on some cosmetics.

Lip Smacker becoming PETA-approved cruelty-free may be enough for some cruelty-free consumers but not for others who don’t trust PETA’s standards over Leaping Bunny’s.

Is Lip Smacker Cruelty-Free?

Lip Smacker was unable to provide clarification on whether they allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law and whether they sell in countries that require animal testing.

Therefore, Lip Smacker is on our Grey Area Brands List – Brands with Unclear Policies.

Is Lip Smacker Vegan?

Lip Smacker does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Lip Smacker’s cruelty-free status is currently unclear, we wouldn’t consider anything sold or produced by Lip Smacker to be vegan anyways.

The following is a screenshot of Lip Smacker’s vegan claims:

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.