You can find St. Tropez cruelty-free products at Sephora, Ulta, Boots, and on Amazon.

St. Tropez is Cruelty-Free

St. Tropez 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 St. Tropez to be Cruelty-Free.

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on St. Tropez’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

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, or any third parties.

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

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

The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on St. Tropez’s website about its vegan claims:

In addition, St. Tropez states on its ‘Sustainability’ page, “by 2022, all of our products will be Vegan friendly (currently 96% are*)”

How to know which of St. Tropez products are vegan?

All of St. Tropez’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. See below for an example.

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.

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

“All products are ethically produced and sourced.” […] “We also have routine audits and all suppliers follow set policies and procedures created by our main company PZ Cussons.”

St. Tropez claims all of their products are ethically produced 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 St. Tropez’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!