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Is The Honest Company Cruelty-Free?
🐰 The Honest Company is a cruelty-free brand. None of The Honest Company’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. The Honest Company has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included in our Cruelty-Free Directory.
Does The Honest Company Test on Animals?
When asking, does The Honest Company test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of The Honest Company’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.
In our research, we discovered the following:
- ✓ The Honest Company confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
- ✓ The Honest Company confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
- ✓ The Honest Company confirmed they do not allow or sell their products under conditions where animal testing is required by law
By meeting all of our Cruelty-Free Criteria, The Honest Company is a truly cruelty-free brand by our standards.
What is The Honest Company’s Animal Testing Policy?
Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on The Honest Company’s website about its animal testing policy:
Is The Honest Company Certified Cruelty-Free?
The Honest Company is certified cruelty-free by PETA, but not Leaping Bunny certified.
Cruelty-Free Policies 2023
Just because a brand claims it is ‘Cruelty-Free,’ doesn’t always mean that’s the case.
That’s because 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.
How We Assess Cruelty-Free Policies
Since 2015, the start of my blog, I’ve been emailing companies asking about their animal testing policies and cruelty-free commitments.
And based on the responses I receive from companies, I’ll research to find any supporting facts needed before concluding whether the brand should be classified as “Cruelty-Free,” “Animal-Tested,” or “Grey Area – Unclear Policies.”
☕️ Every week, I continue to reach out to new brands while trying my best to keep current brands updated. If you found any of my posts or guides helpful, consider Buying Me A Coffee! I would greatly appreciate it! ❤️
What about Vegan?
Just because something is called Cruelty-Free, doesn’t always mean it’s Vegan. And vice versa.
Cruelty-Free only refers to no animal testing, while Vegan means formulated without animal products.
Some brands are Cruelty-Free, but not Vegan.
And some are Vegan, but not Cruelty-Free.
Another important distinction to know is, Vegan in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand is 100% Vegan or a specific product is Vegan.
Is The Honest Company Vegan?
⭐️ The Honest Company is NOT an entirely vegan brand. But The Honest Company offers some vegan options that are free of animal products.
Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on The Honest Company’s website about its vegan products:
How to know which of The Honest Company’s products are vegan?
All of The Honest Company’s vegan products are clearly marked in the product description on their website. It should say, “Not tested on animals and no animal byproducts.”
Where to buy The Honest Company? Check out honest.com and Target!
Vegan Policies
Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But Vegan is generally used to mean formulated without animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.
Some common animal products 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 unless a brand explicitly labels its ingredients or product as Vegan, it’s often 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 chose were from non-animal sources.
Ethical Mica Mining Policy
Mica is a mineral 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 The Honest Company if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,
“All of our products undergo a battery of stringent tests, notably product integrity, which includes stability and microbiology, and product safety which includes skin patching. At Honest, we work with trusted suppliers and manufacturers. We require our contract manufacturers to attest and confirm that all mica used in the products has been ethically sourced and is in compliance with all labor and child labor laws relating to hiring, wages, working hours, over-time and working environment, as well as the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act. We also aim to partner with contract manufacturers that are members of the Responsible Mica Initiative, an effort which works to eradicate child labor and unacceptable working conditions in the Indian mica supply chain.
The Honest Company was built around the ethical values of transparency, trust, sustainability and a deep sense of purpose — we continue to live those values by delivering safe and effective products sources from credible manufacturers. Thank you!”
I hope this article helped you to understand The Honest 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!
If you found this helpful, consider Buying Me a Coffee. So that I can continue to keep this site running and updated.
