Lumene

Last Updated: January 4, 2022

How Ethical Is Lumene?

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 Lumene’s ethics and initiatives.

Where to Shop /

Ethical Analysis

Is Lumene cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Lumene’s policies.
Lumene is cruelty-free. None of Lumene’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals anywhere in the world.
Not all of Lumene’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
Lumene is committed to using active ingredients derived from Nordic ingredients, many of which are developed from byproducts of the food and forest industries. In addition, Lumene is committed to using sustainably and responsibly sourced ingredients with a focus on using wild-crafted plants and berries. As well as, sourcing “raw materials and ingredients from companies located in rural areas, many of which are in areas with high regional unemployment, and in doing so support generating work and economic growth in Finland.”

Lumene aims to become carbon-neutral by 2025. They currently use waste heat and bio-based fuels. They launched their WaterSmart program to reduce water consumption, and they’re working on efficient waste management to re-use or recycle any waste generated in their production.

Lumene is committed to labeling all product packaging to state what material they’re made from and providing recycling instructions on each product page.
Lumene claims their natural mica is ethically sourced without child labor. Lumene also uses synthetic mica that’s made in a lab therefore no child labor is involved.
Some Lumene’s products plastic packaging but they aim to use 80% recyceld plastic or plastic made from renewable resources by 2025.

About Lumene

Lumene’s products are inspired by the natural beauty of the Finnish landscape and the purity and authenticity of the Nordic way of life.
COMPANY BASED IN: Finland
PRODUCTS MADE IN: Finland, EU
PRODUCTS: Skincare, Bath & Body Care, Makeup
CERTIFICATIONS: N/A

Lumene

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

You can find Lumene cruelty-free products at Target and Amazon.

Lumene is Cruelty-Free

Lumene 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 Lumene to be Cruelty-Free.

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

Lumene Cruelty-Free Claims
Lumene claims “no animal testing”

I also emailed Lumene to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. The following is a snippet of the response I received from them:

We do not carry out or commission animal testing on our products or ingredients at any point in the product development or manufacturing process. As a Finnish company we comply with the EU cosmetics legislation that bans testing on animals. The legislation regulating the cosmetics industry (including the ban on animal testing) is enforced in Finland by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes).

We only use suppliers that don’t use animal testing. It’s against the EU cosmetics legislation for suppliers in EU to use animal testing and for suppliers outside of EU to sell ingredients for cosmetic purposes that have been tested on animals. This is being made sure with different audits and Code of Conduct commitments.”

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

“At the moment Lumene products are not available in China and we are not planning to enter the Chinese market so that we would need to give up on our position on animal testing.”

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, or any third parties.

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

Lumene is Not 100% Vegan

‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.

In the case of Lumene, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

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

Lumene Vegan Claims

How to know which of Lumene’s products are vegan?

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

Lumene Vegan Product List

As of 2021, I will no longer be regularly updating this list of Lumene vegan products as all of their vegan products are now clearly marked. Check their website for the most up-to-date and accurate information on which products are vegan or not.

The following Lumene products are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

Skincare – Lumene Vegan

  • All of Lumene skincare products are vegan.

Makeup – Lumene Vegan

  • Air-Light Loose Powder
  • BEST MAT(T)E FOREVER Mattifying Primer
  • Blur Longwear Foundation SPF 15
  • Bright Boost BB Cream SPF20 Light/Medium
  • Bright Boost BB Cream SPF20 Medium/Dark
  • Brightening Flawless Concealer
  • CC Color Correcting & Blurring Primer
  • CC Color Correcting Pen
  • CC Color Correcting Powder
  • CC Concealer
  • Extra Stay Eyebrow Palette
  • Extreme Eye Marker
  • Eyebrow Fixing Gel
  • Eyebrow Shaping Wax
  • Eyeshadow Primer
  • Highlighter
  • Instant Glow Beauty Serum
  • Instant Glow Fresh Skin Tint
  • Instant Glow UV Primer SPF30
  • Lip Balm – Invisible Illumination
  • Longwear Blur Powder Foundation SPF 15
  • Matte Oil-Free Foundation
  • Mattifying & Pore Smoothing Primer
  • Moisturizing & Illuminating Primer
  • Natural Correction Concealer Palette
  • Natural Glow Bronzer
  • Natural Glow Fluid Foundation
  • Natural Perfection CC Cream
  • Nordic Glow Palette
  • Northern Lights Blush
  • Precision Eyeliner
  • Professional Brow Definer Eyebrow Duo
  • Sheer Finish Loose Powder
  • Soft-Matte Pressed Powder
  • Under Eye Concealer
  • Watercolor Blush

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 Lumene’s products made?

Lumene states on its website,

Where are Lumene products manufactured?
Most Lumene products are manufactured in Finland. The rest is manufactured abroad in EU. Lumene products are and will be designed in Finland and sales, marketing, logistics and other functions employ over 300 people in Finland. A major part of our most important products, such as skincare, foundations and primers are manufactured in our factory at Kauklahti, Espoo. From 2019 also our powders, blushers and most mascaras will be manufactured in Espoo.”

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

“Mica is a very common mineral which is produced in many different countries. We always respect the local and international legislation in all our actions. Responsibility is a very important factor in raw material acquisition as well and we expect transparency from our suppliers.

The mica we use comes for example from the USA and India. In addition we also use synthetic mica in our products. Our suppliers are committed to the Lumene Code of Conduct business principles. Our goal is to reduce the use of Mica and use either synthetic or US-based mica in all new launches. Over the past 5 years, we have also reduced Mica usage by a third compared to 2014.”


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

Kindly Share
the Good Vibes

Inspire others to make a positive change by sharing this resource on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Email.

Share /

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on email

What do you think

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *