Tired of being lied to by supposedly “cruelty-free” brands? This is a list of fake cruelty-free brands that claim to be, are frequently listed as, or are often assumed to be “cruelty-free,” but actually are NOT (and some fake vegan brands too).
About This List
A FAKE “cruelty-free” brand qualifies as one or more of the following:
- Parent company tests on animals (learn more)
- Sells products in mainland China (learn more)
- Lies or is misleading about being vegan (learn more)
How to use this list
THE BRANDS ON THIS LIST SHOULD BE AVOIDED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE because the money they receive will still fund cruelty to animals in some form or another.
For a list of companies you should NEVER buy from, see my List of Companies That Test On Animals.
For a list of SAFE companies to buy from, see my List of Cruelty-Free & Vegan Companies.
Key:
NV = not a 100% vegan brand
T = parent company tests on animals
C = sells products in mainland China
L = caught lying or being misleading about being vegan
NLB = not Leaping Bunny certified
A-Z
Ancient Egyptian Bath And Body Elixirs | NV | ||||
Aveda | NV | T | NLB | ||
Avon | NV | T | C | NLB | |
Becca | NV | T | NLB | ||
Bili Beauty | NV | ||||
Bite Beauty | NV | T | |||
Bobbi Brown | NV | T | NLB | ||
Bulldog Skincare | T | ||||
Bumble and Bumble | NV | T | NLB | ||
Burt’s Bees | NV | T | |||
Caldrea | T | ||||
Cate McNabb Cosmetics | NV | ||||
Clinique | NV | T | NLB | ||
Coastal Classic Creations | NV | ||||
Color Noir | NV | ||||
Common Good | NV | L | |||
CoverGirl | NV | T | |||
Darphin | NV | T | NLB | ||
defy & Inspire | T | ||||
Dermalogica | NV | T | |||
Dove | NV | T | NLB | ||
Dr. Mercola Healthy Skin | T | ||||
Earth’s Beauty | NV | ||||
Echoclean | T | ||||
Ecover | T | ||||
Elevé Cosmetics | NV | L | |||
Espionage Cosmetics | NV | ||||
Estée Lauder | NV | T | NLB | ||
Fitglow | NV | L | |||
Gabriel Cosmetics | NV | ||||
GlamGlow | NV | T | NLB | ||
Hello Bello | NV | L | |||
hello products | T | ||||
Ingredients Matter | NV | L | |||
Jo Malone | NV | T | NLB | ||
Kilian | NV | T | NLB | ||
Kino Hawaiian Skincare | NV | L | |||
Le Labo | NV | T | C | NLB | |
Lime Crime | T | ||||
Little Twig | NV | L | |||
Liz Earle | NV | T | |||
LUSH Cosmetics | NV | NLB | |||
MAC | NV | T | NLB | ||
Mary Kay | NV | T | C | NLB | |
Method | T | ||||
Michael Kors | NV | T | NLB | ||
Molton Brown | NV | T | |||
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day | T | ||||
Nature’s Brands | NV | L | |||
Ogee | NV | L | |||
One Two Cosmetics | NV | L | |||
OPI | NV | T | C | NLB | |
Origins | NV | T | NLB | ||
Rodin Olio Lusso | NV | T | NLB | ||
SAINT Cosmetics | NV | L | |||
Schmidt’s Deodorant | T | ||||
Seventh Generation | T | ||||
Skin2Spirit | NV | L | |||
Skin Essence Organics | NV | L | |||
Smashbox | NV | T | NLB | ||
Tom Ford Beauty | NV | T | NLB | ||
Tommy Hilfiger | NV | T | NLB | ||
Too Faced | NV | T | NLB | ||
Tory Burch | NV | T | NLB | ||
Tre’Yours | T | ||||
TruSelf Organics | NV | L | |||
Tulip | NV | L | |||
The Unscented Company | NV | L | |||
Wet N Wild | NV | T | C | NLB |
More Ways to Make a Difference
Here are some more ways to maximize your impact and be ethically consistent:
Go Meat-Free
Go Dairy-Free
Go Egg-Free
Hank and Henry beauty should be added to this list. They are vegan. And cruelty free❤️
Hey Sheryl,
I think you might be meaning they should be included in my cruelty-free & vegan list? Because this list is for fake cruelty-free companies. (The way you worded your comment makes me think you don’t mean for them to be on this list, but if you believe they should be, I’ll definitely look into that because they’re claiming to be cruelty-free.)
But yeah, Hank & Henry looks good BUT they’re not Leaping Bunny certified, which is a qualification of making my cruelty-free and vegan list. Certification from Leaping Bunny is important because it’s the only cruelty-free program that’s evidence-based: they actually surprise audit companies to make sure they’re actually 100% cruelty-free (and not just saying so).
I have a detailed explanation for why this is important here.
Where is your list of vegan household products?
Just posted an extensive list of vegan household cleaning products here.
I noticed The Body Shop is not on your ‘cruelty-free’ list nor your ‘fake cruelty-free’ list. According to its website, it’s Leaping Bunny approved. What’s your opinion of this company?
The Body Shop is currently owned by Natura & Co., which appears to not test on animals. Unfortunately, they are not a 100% vegan brand and thus, didn’t make the cut to be on my cruelty-free & vegan list.
I strongly suggest supporting companies that are both cruelty-free AND vegan, due to the inherent cruelty involved in the meat, dairy, egg, wool, etc. industries.
You can find my cruelty-free & vegan company list here.
Can I ask why Lush cosmetics is on here? I often shop there because they say they are vegan and cruelty free
Shop lady att BodyShop told me their parent company does not test on animals (before it was Lacome, I think, when I stopped using BodyShop products) – wonder then, why BodyShop is not on your list.
The Body Shop is owned by Natura now (they were previously owned by L’Oreal). Unfortunately, they still sell products that are not vegan and thus, cannot be included in my list of cruelty-free and vegan companies.
Could I please ask what your opinion on Simple products is, bought in the UK.
I’ve been buying them for years as was under the impression they were vegan but looked at the bottle and they state ‘non animal derived’ 🙁
Simple Skincare isn’t certified with the Leaping Bunny program, which is a requirement for being included on my list.
I do not see any mention of the UK No. 7 brand. Any classification for them?
Hi, I wasn’t sure how else to contact you, but I’ve noticed something that’s made me suspicious. There seems to be a new type of “cheese flavor” that some brands are using, which claims to be vegan, but which actually tastes like dairy cheese. I noticed that I sometimes get joint pain after eating these products, which only happens when I consume dairy products (casein intolerance). I wonder if there’s any way to research this new cheese flavor and find out what it’s actually made from.
Examples:
Hippeas Vegan Cheddar Flavor (contains lactic acid and “natural flavor”, but does not specify the origin)
Modern Table Vegan Mac (also contains natural flavors and lactic acid powder with no source specified)
I thought maybe the food industry has found some devious new way of creating a dairy derivative that contains so little allergens that they can use it in “dairy-free” foods without getting sued.
In any case, thanks for your hard work and research!
That’s very interesting! I had no idea this was a potential problem. I personally am not familiar with what you’re describing but hopefully someone in the comments can shed some light on this for us? Sorry you’re going through that 🙁
What’s about Boots own brand and also Superdrug ?