You can find ORLY cruelty-free products at Ulta and Sally Beauty.

ORLY is Cruelty-Free

ORLY 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 ORLY to be Cruelty-Free.

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

ORLY 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 our products in China.”

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.

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.

ORLY is 100% Vegan

ORLY has confirmed all of its products are vegan and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

The following is a snippet of the email response I received from ORLY when I asked if all of their products are vegan:

“All ORLY products are cruelty-free and vegan.”

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 ORLY’s products made?

“Family owned since 1975, ORLY® products are made with love at their HQ in Los Angeles, CA.”

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 ORLY if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“All of our mica is sourced from well established companies. In addition, we have verification from the companies that there is no animal testing done and this is supportive of our Leaping Bunny certification (Cruelty-Free).”

ORLY claims their mica is sourced from “well-established companies” but did not specifically address where their mica is sourced from and how they audit or trace to ensure no child labor was involved in mining their mica.

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

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