ZAO Organic Makeup

Last Updated: February 1, 2022

How Ethical Is ZAO Organic Makeup?

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 ZAO's ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is ZAO Organic Makeup cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on ZAO’s’ policies.
ZAO is cruelty-free. None of ZAO’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
All of ZAO’s products are 100% vegan and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
ZAO is committed to manufacturing sustainably crafted products with a low carbon footprint, consciously contributing to the planet’s conservation. In addition, ZAO chooses raw materials from organic farming by selecting ingredients free of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, while minimizing soil pollution and groundwater, and protecting biodiversity.
ZAO claims their mica is ethically-sourced without the use of child labor. See their ethical mica mining policy here.
ZAO’s product packaging is made from controlled harvested bamboo and they also offer a refill system designed to produce less waste, use less plastic, and consume less energy. But some components of ZAO’s product packaging are made of plastic.

About ZAO Organic Makeup

Developed by a passionate team dedicated to healthy lifestyles, ZAO Organic Makeup uses ingredients so pure they are certified by the most prestigious organizations in the world including Ecocert, CosmeBio, Gluten-free, and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
PRODUCTS MADE IN: the EU
PRODUCTS: Makeup, Nails
CERTIFICATIONS: PETA-Certified

ZAO Organic Makeup

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ZAO Makeup is Cruelty-Free

ZAO Makeup 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 ZAO Makeup to be Cruelty-Free.

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

ZAO Makeup 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, and by any third parties.

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

ZAO Makeup is 100% Vegan

ZAO Makeup 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 ZAO Makeup when I asked if all of their products are vegan:

“Thank you for your inquiry. I confirm that all ZAO products are certified 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 ZAO Makeup’s products made?

ZAO states on its website,

Where are Zao products made?

ZAO products are manufactured in Europe.

We work mainly with three manufacturers, each being an expert in their particular field, depending on the products category. We can distinguish between :

– Pencils manufacturer: Schwan, a German company whose production is located in the Czech Republic;
– Nail polish manufacturer: Fiabila, a French company located in Eure-et-Loire region;
– Makeup removers manufacturer: Probionat, a French company based in Bouches-du-Rhône region;
– All other products in our range are manufactured by Laboratory Phytotechnical, Italian company, based near Milan (Italy). This company has been our privileged partner for over 15 years. In fact, David Reccole, founder and CEO of the brand Zao, was at the start of Laboratoire Phytotechnique then its president from 2006 to 2013.

We trust the quality of certified organic products from these partners.

You can find where place of manufacturing on the product label (e.g. “made in Italy”).”

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

“Thank you for your inquiry. For your peace of mind our certifications those not allow us as a company to use ingredients that are not obtained in a sustainable way or are obtained under a banned or prohibited way. All the organic certifications our line has are granted only to companies that are strictly supervised from the way their ingradients are obtained until the final product and every step in the way including how the laboratories and production factory is cleaned and what products are used. Also we are one of the few companies that are certified with Slow Cosmetique which pushes to be more accurate and clean in the way we obtain our ingredients and the packaging we use. Regarding child labor, again, our certifications would never be granted if the source of our ingredients where not supervised and ethically obtained and all our process are studied and revised every 2 years.”


I hope this article helped you to understand ZAO Makeup’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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