Mamonde is NOT Cruelty-Free!

Mamonde allows its products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law including when selling in stores in mainland China.

In addition, Mamonde is owned by Amorepacific, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.

Mamonde Cruelty Free Claims

While researching to learn more about Mamonde’s cruelty-free status, I couldn’t find the brand’s official animal testing policy anywhere on its website.

So I reached out to Mamonde 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 Mamonde responded by saying:

“Thank you for taking the time to contact Mamonde Online.

As an enterprise seeking peaceful coexistence between nature, human beings, and business, AMOREPACIFIC pledges the elimination of unnecessary animal testing for cosmetics to respect all living creatures. We have voluntarily discontinued animal testing on cosmetic ingredients and finished goods since 2008. And as of May 1, 2013, we will expand the non-animal testing policy to our suppliers.

Through continuous cooperation with academia, AMOREPACIFIC will further enhance our efforts to develop alternative testing methods.

*Exceptions to this principle will apply, however, if animal testing is required or bound by local governments or laws.”

Based on their response, it turns out that Amorepacific owns Mamonde. And Mamonde has the same animal testing policy as Amorepacific where both state they discontinued animal testing, except if animal testing is required or bound by local governments or laws.

Policies stating “except where animal testing is required by law” usually imply the company is selling its products in mainland China. That’s because cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals.

Is Mamonde Sold in China?

In my research, I discovered that Mamonde products are indeed sold in stores in mainland China.

Below is a screenshot of Mamonde store locator showing results in mainland China:

But Doesn’t China No Longer Test on Animals?

Companies can bypass China’s pre-market animal testing by choosing to manufacture their ordinary or general cosmetics in China, but it’s not stated anywhere that Mamonde has taken this route.

Additionally, the possibility of post-market animal testing is not completely ruled out and may be conducted on some cosmetics sold in physical stores in China.

As of May 1, 2021, cosmetic companies can also export and sell their ordinary or general cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet a set of preconditions first. However, meeting these conditions has proven difficult, and it’s still unclear what exactly is accepted according to the new regulations. So there’s no word yet of any company that has successfully done so.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Mamonde) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2022.

Because Mamonde has decided to sell in mainland China stores, they must consent and pay to have their products tested on animals. That’s why most cosmetics brands selling in mainland China cannot be considered cruelty-free in 2022.

Although Mamonde may not be conducting these animal tests themselves, they knowingly allow Chinese authorities to test their products on animals to sell in China.

For those reasons, we would not consider Mamonde to be cruelty-free by our standards.

Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China because of its animal testing laws. Unfortunately, Mamonde refuses to do the same and therefore cannot be considered cruelty-free.

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.

See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Mamonde already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Is Mamonde Certified Cruelty-Free?

Mamonde is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.

Because Mamonde is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is looking into or substantiating Company’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

Is Mamonde Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?

Yes. Mamonde is owned by Amorepacific, a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2022.

Some cruelty-free consumers may choose to purchase and support cruelty-free brands owned by animal-tested parent corporations as they hope it will convince the parent company to become cruelty-free.

But in this case, Mamonde is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Amorepacific.

Is Mamonde Cruelty-Free?

To sum up, by choosing to sell in mainland China, Mamonde must have its products tested on animals. Therefore, we would NOT consider Mamonde to be a cruelty-free brand.

Currently, Mamonde is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.

Is Mamonde Vegan?

Mamonde claims to offer some “vegan” options that are free of animal-derived ingredients, but because Mamonde engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t classify anything sold or produced by Mamonde to be vegan.

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.

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Mamonde

Looking to switch to cruelty-free K-beauty products? Here are some cruelty-free brands to check out:

• COSRX
• Dear, Klairs
• Kaja *owned by MBX
• Purito

or check out our guide to cruelty-free Korean Beauty brands!