Is Urban Decay Cruelty-Free?

🐰 Urban Decay is a *cruelty-free brand. None of Urban Decay’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. Urban Decay has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included in our Cruelty-Free Directory.

Does Urban Decay Test on Animals?

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

In our research, we discovered the following:

• ✓ Urban Decay confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
• ✓ Urban Decay confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
• ✓ Urban Decay confirmed they do not allow or sell their products under conditions where animal testing is required by law

By meeting all of our Cruelty-Free Criteria, Urban Decay is a *cruelty-free brand by our standards.

*Urban Decay is owned by L’Oreal, a corporation that is NOT cruelty-free because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.

The decision is yours whether you want to support or boycott cruelty-free brands owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this. Do what you’re comfortable with. I just thought it was important to disclose that L’Oreal owns Urban Decay.

What is Urban Decay’s Animal Testing Policy?

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

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

“please be advised that none of Urban Decay’s products are sold in China.”

With the current changes to China’s animal testing laws, some cosmetics sold in China can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, without meeting those conditions, animal testing is still legally required for most cosmetics sold in China in 2023.

Is Urban Decay Certified Cruelty-Free?

Urban Decay is certified cruelty-free by PETA, but not Leaping Bunny certified.

Cruelty-Free Policies 2023

Just because a brand claims it is ‘Cruelty-Free,’ doesn’t always mean that’s the case.

That’s because 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.

How We Assess Cruelty-Free Policies

Since 2015, the start of my blog, I’ve been emailing companies asking about their animal testing policies and cruelty-free commitments.

And based on the responses I receive from companies, I’ll research to find any supporting facts needed before concluding whether the brand should be classified as “Cruelty-Free,” “Animal-Tested,” or “Grey Area – Unclear Policies.”

☕️ 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! ❤️

What about Vegan?

Just because something is called Cruelty-Free, doesn’t always mean it’s Vegan. And vice versa.

Cruelty-Free only refers to no animal testing, while Vegan means formulated without animal products.

Some brands are Cruelty-Free, but not Vegan.

And some are Vegan, but not Cruelty-Free.

Another important distinction to know is, Vegan in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand is 100% Vegan or a specific product is Vegan.

Is Urban Decay Vegan?

⭐️ Urban Decay is NOT an entirely vegan brand. But Urban Decay offers some vegan options that are free of animal products.

How to know which of Urban Decay’s products are vegan?

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

Where to buy Urban Decay? Check out urbandecay.com, Sephora, Ulta, and Nordstrom!

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But Vegan is generally used to mean formulated without animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products 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 unless a brand explicitly labels its ingredients or product as Vegan, it’s often 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 chose were from non-animal sources.

Where are Urban Decay’s products made?

Urban Decay won’t disclose where their products are made. When I asked the brand, they responded and told me:

“Please be advised that our products are created all over the globe, making it difficult to know where exactly a certain product is manufactured.”

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral 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 Urban Decay if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by referencing their parent company, L’Oreal’s mica sourcing policy which states

“today, 99% of our mica comes from completely verified sources. L’Oréal is a founding member of the Responsible Mica Initiative and is committed to ending child labour practices and improving the working conditions of Indian communities whose livelihoods depend on mica.”

I hope this article helped you to understand Urban Decay’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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