Laneige (Amorepacific)

Last Updated: March 1, 2024

How Ethical Is Laneige (Amorepacific)?

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 Laneige’s ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

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

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

Laneige (Amorepacific)

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Is Laneige Cruelty-Free?

☠️ Laneige is NOT cruelty-free in 2023. Laneige allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, including when selling in stores in mainland China.

Laneige’s Animal Testing Policy

When asking, does Laneige test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Laneige’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.

To assess whether brands are cruelty-free, I always start with the company’s official animal testing policy on their website.

On Laneige’s website, they state their parent company, Amorepacific’s animal testing policy where Amorepacific states they discontinued animal testing on their cosmetic ingredients and finished goods since 2008. However, an exception applies if animal testing is required by local governments or laws.

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

Is Laneige Cruelty-Free?

Policies stating, “exceptiions apply if animal testing is required or bound by local governments or laws,” usually imply the company distributes its products in countries that require animal testing, like mainland China.

Is Laneige Sold in China?

In my research, I discovered that Laneige products are indeed sold in stores in mainland China.

Below are a couple of screenshots of Laneige’s store locator showing results in mainland China:

Laneige Sold in China; Cannot Be Cruelty-Free
Laneige available in Mainland China
Laneige sold in stores in China, required to test on animals
Laneige products are sold in Mainland China where animal testing is required by law

But Doesn’t China No Longer Test on Animals?

With the recent changes to China’s animal testing laws, cosmetic companies can now export and sell some of their cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet ALL of the following preconditions first.

  • ONLY sell ‘general’ cosmetics (like makeup, skincare, haircare, nail polish, and perfumes)
  • must NOT sell any ‘special’ cosmetics like sunscreens, hair dye, hair perming, or other cosmetics claiming new efficacy
  • must NOT sell products designed for infants or children
  • must NOT sell products that contain a ‘New Cosmetic Ingredient’
  • AND if post-market testing is required, then the company must have a policy in place where it will RECALL its products rather than allow its products to be tested on animals

Also, products must meet ONE of the following in order to avoid animal testing in China:

  • manufactured in China, or the final assembly is in China
  • if manufactured outside of China and then exported to China, companies must obtain the proper product safety certificates and documents

However, it’s not stated anywhere that Laneige has taken any steps to meet the above preconditions in order to avoid animal testing while selling in China.

Follow the highlighted lines in the graphic below to see why most cosmetics sold in China (like Laneige) are still required by law to be tested on animals in 2023.

Because Laneige 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 2023.

Although Laneige may not be conducting these animal tests themselves, they knowingly allow Chinese authorities to test their products on animals in order to sell in China.

For those reasons, we would not consider Laneige to be cruelty-free by our standards.

☕️ 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! ❤️

Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China under conditions where animal tests may be required. Unfortunately, Laneige 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 Laneige already does not meet the last two, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.

Complete Cruelty-Free Checklist

Is Laneige Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

Since Laneige is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is substantiating or auditing Laneige’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.

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

Yes. Laneige is owned by Amorepacific, parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2023.

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, Laneige is NOT cruelty-free, and neither is its parent corporation, Amorepacific.

Does Laneige Test on Animals?

To wrap up, Laneige allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, like when selling in China. Therefore, we would NOT consider Laneige to be a cruelty-free brand.

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

Is Laneige Vegan?

Laneige is NOT vegan. Laneige does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Laneige engages in animal testing in some capacity, we wouldn’t consider any Laneige products 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.

I also noticed Sephora listing some of Laneige products in their “Vegan Skincare” category but note that Laneige is NOT cruelty-free. Laneige products are tested on animals.

I’m assuming Sephora is labeling products as “vegan” when they’re formulated without any animal ingredients or by-products. But “Vegan” Cosmetics should also consider whether the products or its ingredients were tested on animals, anywhere in the world.

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Laneige:

Looking to switch to cruelty-free brands? Here are some cruelty-free and vegan-friendly options that are similar to Laneige:

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What do you think

3 thoughts on “Laneige (Amorepacific)”

  1. Sephora confirms Laneige is NOT cruelty Free, I didn’t know this, I bought two products from them but it will be the last time just because of this.

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