You can find Lime Crime’s cruelty-free products at limecrime.com, Amazon, Ulta, and Nordstrom.

Lime Crime is Cruelty-Free

Lime Crime 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 Lime Crime to be Cruelty-Free.

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Lime Crime’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

Lime Crime has confirmed they only sell their products through cross-border e-commerce sites in China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

“We’ve recently extended our brand cosmetics across the globe to China, where more beauty fanatics can revel in colorful, unique looks! Our products are sold in China through cross-border e-commerce (CBEC), a policy that keeps our current U.S. manufacturing and production standards in place. Since our products are imported through CBEC, our items are exempt from China’s required market testing. AKA we still do NOT test on animals and our product ingredients are still vegan and cruelty-free.“

Below is a list of Lime Crime’s online retailers in China:

As long as Lime Crime is not selling their products in a physical retail store in mainland China (not including Hong Kong), then 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.

Lime Crime is 100% Vegan

Lime Crime has confirmed all of its products are vegan and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Lime Crime’s website about its vegan claims:

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it’s usually used in the context to describe something that doesn’t contain any 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 Lime Crime’s products made?

I asked Lime Crime where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“Most products are made in the US. There are a few products made in other countries. Which product are you checking on?”

“Our products are made in a few different locations. Are you wondering about a specific item?”

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

“At Lime Crime, we uphold the highest standards when it comes to choosing our suppliers and manufacturers. With that, we ensure that all of our partners are as committed as we are to ethically sourcing the ingredients in each of our products, including Mica.”

I hope this article helped you to understand Lime Crime’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!