SC Johnson is NOT cruelty-free or vegan.

This means SC Johnson 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 SC Johnson:

Company Overview

Founded in 1886 in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, SC Johnson is a family-owned, privately held multinational manufacturer of air fresheners, auto care, home cleaning, home storage, insecticide, and shoe care products.

SC Johnson is known for brands like Glade, Windex, and Saran, but they’re also known for their relationship with famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed their corporate headquarters (now a historical landmark), their family home, and the company research tower.

Their roster includes newer cruelty-free acquisitions: Method, Caldrea, Mrs. Meyers, and Ecover. Since being bought by SC Johnson, these brands can no longer be considered truly cruelty-free.

Animal Testing Policy

Refreshingly, SC Johnson probably has the most thoughtfully-worded animal testing policy of any I’ve read (and I’ve read quite a lot of them). But the fact remains that this company is not cruelty-free and no amount of compassionate or reasonable-sounding prose can change that.

So, in a nutshell, here is their policy:

“We do believe strongly that products must be safe for consumers today and for the planet for generations to come; the goal is to ensure this with the absolute minimum of animal testing necessary. […]

[…] The bottom line is that we have to meet government, safety and environmental requirements for our products, but we are working toward ways to do so while continually minimizing animal testing.”

They describe the various laws requiring animal testing some governments impose for special types of products, such as insecticides and insect repellents:

“[…] in many cases our choices are affected by legal requirements. For example, mosquito repellents by law must undergo toxicological assessment (which may involve animal testing) in order to be sold in numerous geographies, including the United States and Europe.”

Next — and this is where they start to show their true colors — they take a jab at companies that have a very strict no-testing policy by saying those companies “aren’t doing anything new”:

“We realize that some companies say they ‘don’t test on animals.’ Frankly, we are skeptical, but even if the claim is true, it may mean simply that they aren’t doing anything new.“

All of this means that SC Johnson does test on animals. Certain types of products (ex: insect repellants) require animal testing to be sold in places like the U.S. and Europe, but that’s not the main reason they do it. SC Johnson openly admits to testing on animals for ingredients and finished products in the name of “innovation” with no date set to stop — and I call shenanigans.

There are plenty of innovative cruelty-free companies out there. There are plenty of ways to innovate without willfully causing animals to suffer. At some point, ethics have to come into the picture. Hopefully SC Johnson will realize that someday soon.

Read SC Johnson’s 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.