Maybelline is one of the most popular brands in the world, you can’t enter a drugstore without seeing at least one Maybelline product.
With it being one of the most popular brands in the world, it comes with a big responsibility of remaining ethical, cruelty-free and environmentally friendly, but is Maybelline doing everything in its power to be one of those brands?
It’s getting harder nowadays to find brands that put being ethical and environmentally friendly first, since it’s much cheaper and easier for them as a business to take a shortcut and test on animals or create their products unethically in countries with significantly less labor laws than the country it originates in.
In short, Maybelline can’t be considered a cruelty-free brand due to them selling their products in China, but we’ll be going into more detail about that in this article. Keep on reading to find out if Maybelline is cruelty-free or vegan.
Does Maybelline Test On Animals?
Being such a world renowned makeup brand, you’d like to think that Maybelline champions for the outdated and cruel testing of makeup on animals to be banned, but sadly that’s not really the case.
Maybelline is yet to to take a firm stance against animal testing.
Although Maybelline (and parent company L’Oreal) doesn’t test any of its ingredients or products on animals, both companies don’t actually outright condemn it and actually go further to say that exceptions for animal testing can be made if regulatory authorites demand testing for regulation or safety purposes.
So, even though we can say that Maybelline doesn’t conduct any routine animal testing, they still accept animal testing in certain circumstances, when that shouldn’t be the case at all.
Maybelline cannot be considered cruelty-free until it makes a firm stance that it’s completely against animal testing in any circumstance and that it will not allow third parties to test their products on animals.
You may be wondering what circumstances could ever permit animal testing to take place.
Well, one circumstance where Maybelline permits animal testing is when selling their products in China.
Until recently, China had a law that made it a requirement for makeup brands to conduct animal testing on their products before they could become avaliable on the market in China.
China has since got rid of this law, but the country is still yet to ban animal testing altogether.
So, third parties in China could still test Maybelline products on animals.
This is why Maybelline is not completely cruelty-free and cannot be considered as such, even though themselves as a brand do not test on animals.
Is Maybelline Vegan-Friendly?
Since Maybelline isn’t considered cruelty-free, due to reasons we’ve just discussed, it cannot be considered as a vegan-friendly brand either.
Even if Maybelline was a cruelty-free brand, it still could not be classed as vegan-friendly, due to some of its products containing animal-derived ingredients and byproducts.
You may be confused by this, since Maybelline has a ‘Vegan Formula Makeup’ range, and surely Maybelline can’t lie about that?
Even though this range contains the word ‘vegan’, it should be noted that only the formulas need to meet this definition.
This range has not been accredited by any cruelty-free or vegan organizations, so it can’t be confirmed nor denied if these products have been tested on animals or not, and therefore Maybelline cannot be considered a vegan makeup brand.
Is L’Oreal Cruelty-Free?
Like we mentioned earlier, L’Oreal is the parent company of Maybelline, and in our opinion, if the parent company is not cruelty-free then the subsidiaries of this parent company cannot be considered as such either.
According to PETA, to be considered cruelty-free, a company must agree that it doesn’t conduct, pay for, or allow tests on animals for their formulas, ingredients or products anywhere in the world.
L’Oreal has not actually tested on animals since 1989, and it has taken many positive steps in becoming a more ethical brand, but it cannot be deemed cruelty-free under these terms.
This is because L’Oreal products can be subject to animal testing in countries where the testing of products on animals is a legal requiremement before the product can be sold on the market.
Even though L’Oreal still allows testing on animals in these circumstances, their website states that L’Oreal is committed to ‘beauty without animal testing’.
To go a step further, L’Oreal has even developed synthetic human skin, which has provided one of the best alternatives to animal testing seen thus far.
So, whilst L’Oreal can’t be considered cruelty-free since it still sells its products in countries where animal testing is a must, they are developing some of the best alternatives to animal testing and becoming a pioneer in this field.
Hopefully, we will see L’Oreal start to pull their products from sale in these countries and make a firm stance on no testing to completely show their dedication to being an ethical and cruelty-free makeup brand.
Final Thoughts
Maybelline is unfortunately not cruelty-free as of yet, as they still allow testing on animals in countries where it is a requirement.
Maybe soon Maybelline will make a stance, cementing their opposition to animal testing, but until then, the brand will still be considered as an unethical brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Some Cruelty-Free And Vegan-Friendly Makeup Brands?
You may be disappointed that Maybelline is not yet 100% cruelty-free yet, but there are tons of makeup brands out there that are.
KVD Vegan Beauty is just one of these. Developed by tattoo artist, Kat Von D, KVD Vegan Beauty is 100% vegan and cruelty-free and her company puts an emphasis on bold and beautiful makeup with stunning products.
PYT Beauty is another one. It is cruelty-free, vegan and sustainable, making it completely ethical!
Their products are all made with recycled plastic and free from parabens, silicone and petroleum, which we all know harm the environment.
Their makeup is beautiful and it’s an ethical and socially responsible brand that has the environment in mind.
When I learned as a child that fashion and beauty go hand in hand with “suffering and pain”, I decided to make a difference.My love for animals is as important to me as my love for fashion.
That’s why I’m devoted to promoting cruelty free and vegan options for clothes, shoes, accessories and make-up.
I truly hope that my website inspires you to make wise choices when it comes to buying clothes or beauty products.When we all contribute a little, we can make the world a better place.
Love, Jessica
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