Prada (L’Oreal)

Last Updated: October 18, 2022

How Ethical Is Prada (L’Oreal)?

Make a positive impact by supporting companies with the same values and ethics as what matters most to you. To navigate and find ethical brands, here’s a summary of Prada’s ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Prada cruelty-free or vegan? We’ve got the answers here! Read below to learn more about Prada’s policies.
Prada is NOT Cruelty-Free. Prada engages in animal testing by allowing its products to be animal-tested.

Prada is also owned by L’Oreal, a parent corporation that does engage in animal testing.
Yes, Prada sells its products in stores in mainland China under conditions where animal testing is still legally required.
Prada does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Prada engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t consider anything sold or produced by Prada to be vegan anyways.

Prada (L’Oreal)

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Prada is NOT Cruelty-Free!

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

In addition, Prada is owned by L’Oreal, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.

Prada’s Animal Testing Policy

On Prada’s website, they state their parent company, L’Oreal’s animal testing policy. And L’Oreal claims they no longer test on animals, however, “certain health authorities may nevertheless decide to conduct animal tests themselves for certain cosmetic products, as it is still the case in China.”

See below for a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Prada’s website:

Based on their statement, we now know that L’Oreal owns Prada. And Prada has the same animal testing policy as L’Oreal where both state they don’t test their ingredients on animals but then state China’s animal testing regulations.

Policies stating China’s animal testing laws 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 Prada Sold in China?

According to this article, Prada’s fragrances are sold in stores 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 specifically that Prada 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 Prada) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2022.

Because Prada 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 Prada 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 Prada 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, Prada 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 Prada already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Complete Cruelty-Free Checklist

Is Prada Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

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

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

Yes. Prada is owned by L’Oreal, 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, Prada is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, L’Oreal.

Is Prada Cruelty-Free?

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

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

Is Prada Vegan?

Prada does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Prada engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t consider anything sold or produced by Prada to be vegan anyways.

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 Prada

Looking to switch to cruelty-free fragrances? Check out our guide to Cruelty-Free and Vegan Perfumes at Sephora!

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