Laneige is NOT Cruelty-Free!

Laneige allows its products or ingredients to be tested on animals when required by law including when selling in stores in mainland China.

In addition, Laneige is owned by Amorepacific Group, a corporation that is also not cruelty-free.

Laneige’s Animal Testing Policy

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:

Policies stating, “exceptiions apply if animal testing is required or bound by local governments or laws,” usually imply the company is selling its products in mainland China. That’s because cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals.

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:

But Doesn’t China No Longer Tests on Animals?

Companies can bypass China’s pre-market animal testing by choosing to manufacture their ordinary or general cosmetics in China, but it’s not stated anywhere that Laneige has taken this route.

Additionally, the possibility of post-market animal testing is not completely ruled out and may be conducted on some cosmetics sold in physical stores in China.

As of May 1, 2021, cosmetic companies can also export and sell their ordinary or general cosmetics in China without animal testing only if they meet a set of preconditions first. However, meeting these conditions has proven difficult, and it’s still unclear what exactly is accepted according to the new regulations. So there’s no word yet of any company that has successfully done so.

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 2022.

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 2022.

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

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

Cruelty-Free Policies

Many truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell their products in China because of its animal testing laws. 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, and 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.

Is Laneige Certified Cruelty-Free?

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

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

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

Yes. Laneige is owned by Amorepacific, a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2022.

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.

Is Laneige Cruelty-Free?

To sum up, by choosing to sell in mainland China, Laneige must have its products tested on animals. 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 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.

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:

• Glow Recipe – some vegan options
• TATCHA *owned by Unilever – some vegan options
• Drunk Elephant *owned by Shiseido – some vegan options
• Sunday Riley – some vegan options
• Herbivore – 100% Vegan