Lush is Cruelty-Free

Lush 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 Lush to be Cruelty-Free.

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

As of May 1, 2021, some imported ordinary cosmetics can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, for the most part, animal testing is still legally required for most imported cosmetics in 2022.

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

“We do not sell in mainland China. As you may know, their government requires all cosmetics to be tested on animals, which contradicts our cruelty-free commitments. We know this is disappointing to our many fans in China, but we’d never put profits over animal welfare, ever! We hope they use their love of Lush and cruelty-free beauty products as impetus to spark change.”

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, and by any third parties.

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

Lush 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 Lush, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of Lush products are vegan?

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

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.

Where are Lush’s products made?

“All of our UK products are made at our factory in Poole. We also have factory’s in Europe, Japan, North America and Australia which supply those markets.”

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.

Thankfully, on Lush’s website it states:

“Due to the human rights issues, namely child labor, associated with the mining of natural mica, Lush has made a commitment to remove natural mica from its production as of January 1st, 2018.”

Lush uses synthetic mica that’s made in a lab, therefore no child labor is involved.

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