Estée Lauder is NOT cruelty-free or vegan.

This means Estée Lauder tests on animals directly or through third-parties and uses animal-derived ingredients. Some brands that fall under this category only test on animals where required by law, which means they’re not cruelty-free.

Brands currently owned by Estée Lauder:

Company Overview

Estée Lauder was founded in 1946 in New York City, and the Lauder family currently owns 40% of the company.

The Estée Lauder portfolio consists of high-end cosmetics, fragrance, and haircare brands. Its current lineup includes makeup giants Clinique, MAC, and their eponymous Estée Lauder brand.

Recently, the company has been putting a lot of effort into bulking-up their cruelty-free brand collection — which includes names like Aveda, Becca, Le Labo, and Too Faced — with the latter specifically acquired in an effort to appeal to millennials.

Animal Testing Policy

Despite being a leader in the development of alternatives to cosmetics animal testing, Estée Lauder DOES test on animals where required by law. But this doesn’t stop them from trying to project a cruelty-free image to consumers:

“The Estée Lauder Companies does not test on animals and we never ask others to do so on our behalf.”

BUT…

“If a regulatory body demands it for its safety or regulatory assessment, an exception can be made.”

This is because many of their brands sell their products in mainland China, where testing for cosmetics is required by law. This means they do in fact test on animals.

Testing on animals is a requirement for selling products in China, but a company is not required to sell products there. Any company that elects to sell products anywhere that requires animal testing is guilty of directly causing unnecessary animal suffering simply to satisfy their own greed.

Read their full animal testing policy.

Looking for cruelty-free brands?

Browse my curated list of cruelty-free brands to find brands that are 100% vegan and 100% cruelty-free.