Is Elizabeth Arden Cruelty-free and Vegan?

Founded in 1910 in New York City by Canadian entrepreneur Elizabeth Arden (1881-1966), Elizabeth Arden Inc is an American brand that produces skincare, fragrance, and cosmetics products.

The brand became a subsidiary of Revlon in 2016, following a successful acquisition.

Revlon is also an American brand headquartered in New York, which produces fragrance, skincare, and personal care products.

Revlon is a brand that tests on animals, according to PETA. Although it claims otherwise in its animal testing policy, like Elizabeth Arden, Revlon sells in mainland China.

Is Elizabeth Arden Cruelty-free?

A cruelty-free brand is a company that doesn’t test on animals in any form and in all countries where its products can be found.

So, how do you determine if a brand is cruelty-free or not? To be regarded and certified as cruelty-free, a cosmetics making brand must follow the following rules:

• The brand must not test its final products, ingredients, and formulations on animals
• The brand must not contract third party companies to test on animals on its behalf
• Also, it must not sell in countries which require animal testing

Given the above, Elizabeth Arden is not a cruelty-free brand. The brand is non-cruelty-free because it sells in mainland China.

Although the brand says it is concerned about the use of animals in product testing, it says in its animal testing policy that it is “committed to eliminating animal testing.”

However, it admits that it resorts to animal testing in the case where this is “required by law”.

Although it claims it doesn’t pay for animal testing, as can be seen in the screenshot above, the brand tests its products on animals to keep itself in terms of the operating regulations of countries (China, specifically).

Are Elizabeth Arden Products Tested on Animals?

As stated in its animal testing policy, Elizabeth Arden tests its products on animals.

A brand that truly cares and is concerned about the welfare of animals knows the worthy sacrifice it needs to make is to steer clear of mainland China.

And Elizabeth Arden feels it doesn’t have to lose its Chinese market because of its cruelty-free status.

Elizabeth Arden is blacklisted by PETA as a brand that tests on animals. The brand is included in the organization’s list of companies to avoid.

Do they Test on Animals when the Law requires this?

Elizabeth Arden tests on animals when the law requires it to do so, as confirmed by the brand itself. The brand sells its products in China.

And retaining the Chinese market means cooperating with the country’s animal testing regulations.

Are Elizabeth Arden products sold in China?

Elizabeth Arden and its parent company, Revlon, sell their products in China. It happens that all skincare products that are sold in the Chinese market by foreign brands are usually subject to testing on animals.

Although China has made adjustments to the regulations on animal testing, it still requires this for products that receive complaints from the public.

So, how do we know Elizabeth Arden sells its products in Mainland China?

Elizabeth Arden has a Chinese website that includes a store directory of beauty counters where it sells its products.

The screenshots provided below from Elizabeth Arden’s website, one in the Chinese language, shows that the brand sells to China.

Does Elizabeth Arden have Cruelty-free Certifications?

Elizabeth Arden has no cruelty-free certification. The brand cannot be found on PETA’s list of cruelty-free brands. Instead, it appears on the organization’s list of brands to avoid.

Besides PETA, Elizabeth Arden is also not certified by Leaping Bunny or Cruelty-free International (CFI) because of its animal testing policy.

Is Elizabeth Arden Owned by another Company?

Elizabeth Arden is a brand owned by Revlon. Although Revlon claims it doesn’t do animal testing and has not done that “in decades,” Revlon sells in China and must have been testing on animals to keep that market.

Both Elizabeth Arden and Revlon sell in the Chinese market.

Are Elizabeth Arden products Vegan?

Elizabeth Arden is not vegan. This means the brand uses ingredients that are derived from animals to make its products.

Most of its products contain animal-derived ingredients such as glycerin, lecithin, lysolecithin, and urea.

We checked more than 50 products made by Elizabeth Arden and found out that 94% of its cosmetics products contain animal ingredients. However, below are three vegan products by Elizabeth Arden:

• PREVAGE® Anti-Aging Daily Serum
• Skin Illuminating Brightening Night Capsules
• PREVAGE® Anti-Aging Day + Night Moisture Cream Set

Summary

Elizabeth Arden is not a cruelty-free brand. Most of its products contain animal ingredients and are therefore not vegan. Elizabeth Arden tests its products on animals when required by law, as the brand claims.

Also, Elizabeth Arden sells in mainland China, a country where animal testing is required for foreign brands that deal in cosmetics products. Finally, Elizabeth Arden is owned by Revlon, a parent company that tests on animals.