St Ives is a popular drugstore skin and body care brand known for their affordable facial scrubs and body lotions, but is St Ives cruelty-free and vegan?
Is St. Ives Cruelty-Free?
Yes, St. Ives is Cruelty-free! None of St. Ives’ ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
However, it should be noted that St. Ives is owned by Unilever, a parent corporation that does test on animals when required by law.
St. Ives has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals, they do not allow others to test on their behalf, their suppliers also do not test on animals, and their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing by law.
Below is what is currently stated on St. Ives’ website:
St. Ives Owned by Unilever
In 2010, Unilever acquired St. Ives. Unilever is a corporation that does test on animals when required by law.
Although St. Ives is owned by Unilever, St. Ives is committed to being and staying as a cruelty-free brand.
St. Ives Sold in China?
St. Ives products are not sold in mainland China, they confirmed this to me by stating:
“St. Ives is not and has never been sold directly in China. Consumers in China are only able to purchase St. Ives through cross-border e-commerce sites.“
St. Ives is included on our List of Cruelty-Free Brands.
You can find St. Ives products on Amazon and in stores at Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Is St. Ives Vegan?
(NOV 2020 UPDATE!) Not all of St. Ives products are vegan as some of their products contain animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
I was previously told that almost all of St. Ives products are vegan with the exception of a couple of their products. But it’s come to my attention that many St. Ives products are actually not vegan.
Below is the original response I received from St. Ives,
“None of our products contain animal derived ingredients with the exception of the St. Ives Collagen & Elastin Moisturizer and the St. Ives Collagen & Elastin Body Lotion, which contain collagen and elastin derived from a marine source.“
But upon checking some of St. Ives other products, it turns out they actually contain animal products and therefore are not vegan after all. I have reached out to St. Ives for clarification and will update this post once I know more.
Is St. Ives Ethical?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any public information on St. Ives’ sustainability, environmental, and social initiatives.
Eco-Friendly Packaging Initiatives: St. Ives bottles are recyclable and they claim to be developing and testing new packaging materials including the use of recycled materials. Currently, only some of St. Ives bottles contain up to 25% recycled plastic.
“Because we recognize the importance of preserving natural resources, our company is engaged in a series of programs designed to address a number of issues concerning the environment. These issues range from biodegradability to recycling. Our company actively participates in industry-wide coalitions and trade associations which are working toward solutions to solid waste problems.We have established a center devoted entirely to the development and testing of new packaging materials and concepts. Company efforts to reduce solid waste include recycling projects, packages which can be recycled and use of recycled materials. Our scientists are also conducting studies on a broad range of product formulas and ingredients to ensure their environmental compatibility.”
Ingredients and Formulations Claims: St. Ives claims their products are Paraben-Free.
There’s also St. Ives infamous Apricot Scrub lawsuit which was tossed out of court in 2018.
I hope this article helped you to understand St. Ives’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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oban
November 16, 2020I ordered a few St Ives products after reading this article, thinking if I stay away from the obvious ones, I’d be fine. Nope… way more of their products have animal products than the ones you quoted. Whoever responded to your request is probably unfamiliar with what is an animal-derived ingredient and what isn’t.
Oatmeal and Shea butter face scrub has HONEY, quite far down in the ingredients list.
Two other face scrubs had CETALYZED LANOLIN ALCOHOL.
The lotion I got contains STEARIC ACID, which is a toss-up, and the company has already been mistaken about other ingredients, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s animal-derived…
In fact, the *only* products I received that were specifically labelled cruelty-free/plant-based are the new body washes. Pretty disappointing, to say the least. Irresponsible, to say more.
Vicky Ly
November 17, 2020Hi there,
Thanks for letting me know that most of St. Ives products actually contain animal ingredients or by-products. What a shame. I thought I could trust their response and just took it at face value. I should have known better. I’m so sorry. I’ve corrected the information in this post and will reach out to St. Ives for answers.