The Inkey List

Last Updated: January 30, 2023

How Ethical Is The Inkey List?

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 The Inkey List’s ethics and initiatives.

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Ethical Analysis

Is The Inkey List cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on The Inkey List’s policies.
The Inkey List is cruelty-free. None of The Inkey List’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
Not all of The Inkey List’s products are vegan but they have some vegan options.
The Inkey List is a carbon neutral business, meaning all of their emissions are offset annually. And they’re also committed to using more recyclable and recycled materials for their product packaging.
The Inkey List claims their mica is ethically-sourced without the use of child labor.
The Inkey List products come in plastic packaging and they claim their current range is 75% recyclable but they’re committed to make them 100% recyclable by Feb 2022. As well as, using recycled plastic and making their tubes and pumps mono-material.

About The Inkey List

Founded by Colette Laxton and Mark Curry in 2018, The INKEY List was born from a belief that better knowledge powers better decisions.
COMPANY BASED IN: UK
PRODUCTS MADE IN: UK, USA, Canada
PRODUCTS: Skincare
CERTIFICATIONS: Leaping Bunny

The Inkey List

This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Is The Inkey List Cruelty-Free?

🐰 The Inkey List is a cruelty-free brand. None of The Inkey List’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. The Inkey List has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included in our Cruelty-Free Directory.

Does The Inkey List Test on Animals?

When asking, does The Inkey List test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of The Inkey List’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 Inkey List confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
  • ✓ The Inkey List confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
  • ✓ The Inkey List 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 Inkey List is a truly cruelty-free brand by our standards.

What is The Inkey List’s Animal Testing Policy?

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on The Inkey List’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

With the current changes to China’s animal testing laws, some cosmetics sold in China can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, without meeting those conditions, animal testing is still legally required for most cosmetics sold in China in 2023.

Is The Inkey List Certified Cruelty-Free?

The Inkey List is certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny.

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 Inkey List Vegan?

⭐️ The Inkey List is NOT an entirely vegan brand. But The Inkey List offers some vegan options that are free of animal products.

How to know which of The Inkey List products are vegan?

All of The Inkey List’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. See below for an example.

Where to buy The Inkey List? Check out Sephora, Cult Beauty, and Boots!

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.

Where are The Inkey List products manufactured?

I asked The Inkey List where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“Are products are manufactured in US, Canada and the UK.”

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

“Thanks so much for getting in touch. We only work with suppliers that have the best and most ethical standards in sourcing and supply.

We use Mica in the following two products: I-Brighten eye cream and Symbright moisturiser. Our Mica is ethically and sustainably sourced from India and the USA from companies that are members of the Responsible Mica Initiative.”


I hope this article helped you to understand The Inkey List’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.

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What do you think

2 thoughts on “The Inkey List”

  1. I wish you had taken the time to investigate if they use ingredients that are not fair-trade. (I do not know one way or the other but it would be nice to know if they are ethical all the way )

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