Sephora Collection Cosmetics are No Longer Cruelty Free

Sephora Collection Cosmetics are No Longer Cruelty Free

It breaks my heart to add another brand to the list of those now testing on animals in order to sell in China. The most recent to be added is the Sephora Collection brand. Sephora’s name brand has long been know for offering quality cruelty free cosmetics at decent prices. For some time I have depended on them to give me the cruelty-free knock offs to items that I love but will not buy. They also had a decent selection of vegan items. This is why it’s unfortunate to share the news that the Sephora Collection Cosmetics are No Longer Cruelty Free. Sadly, the change in stance on animal testing appears to have been made and the brand is now sold in China.

Why does this mean that the Sephora Collection cosmetics are no longer cruelty free? Chinese law requires that cosmetics sold there be tested on animals. You can read more about my understanding of this requirement in the post Animal Testing and China. Some brands choose to make their cosmetics elsewhere and ship the finished products into China as this is a way to get around the animal testing law. However, it should be noted that the Sephora Collection cosmetics are made in China, making this an unlikely possibility.

I first heard about this possible change from a reader (thank you, Sarah!) and was sent the link to the Sephora brand being sold on the Sephora China site by fellow cruelty free blog The Rabbit Hops. I am currently waiting to hear back from a representative of the company to confirm. However, I feel comfortable posting about this because the Sephora brand is in fact being sold, plain as day, on the Sephora China website.

Update: Sephora has now release the following statement about their stance on animal testing.

Sephora does not test Sephora Collection or Sephora Original products on animals, and we do not ask others to do so on our behalf, unless it is required by law in specific countries where we operate. We want to see the practice of animal testing ended entirely and we are a strong advocate for the development and implementation of alternative methods

2012 seems to be the year that many brands are making this change – MAC and Smashbox were two of the ones that made the biggest headlines by doing so. Urban Decay considered it, and then thankfully changed their mind at the last minute. With the change with the Sephora Collection also comes to change of Sephora Collection brand Hello Kitty, Kat Von D, and all other lines created under the Sephora Collection.

I am extremely disappointed in Sephora for this decision. I really hope that I hear back from the company and, no matter what I hear, I will be updating this post at that time. I am now removing the Sephora Collection from all of the cruelty free brand lists on Logical Harmony, will be adding a statement on all previous posts mentioning this line, and will no longer endorse them in the future.

14 Comments

  1. Although I find this terribly disappointing I can’t say I’m surprised. Sephora has always come off as being sketchy to me. I always avoided their brands because I secretly suspected that there was animal testing involved all along. On a side note, I find it strange that their Chinese website is selling the products in Yen. Does this mean it gets shipped out of Japan?

  2. you’re welcome and thank you for further investigating this.

    This is a bit tricky because Sephora was never big on advertising if their name products were cruelty free or not so not many people will know to boycott. It is overall very disgusting.

    I want a law to be passed that requires cosmetic companies to announce if they will begin animal testing or not. I hate unknowingly purchasing a product like I did 3 days ago only to announce that it is now not cruelty free. It’s like tricking someone into eating something that was tofu but now meat. It violates moral beliefs. Ughh! I feel sick inside thinking about how horrible 2012 was for animals.

  3. I just sent them the following message:

    I am beyond disappointed to hear that you chose to enter the market in China and now test your products on animals. Your official stance may say that you are against animal testing except where required by law, but you can choose not to operate in countries that require this atrocity. If you were against animal testing, then you would CHOOSE not to operate in China. Not only will I not be buying Sephora Collection or Sephora Original products in the future, but I will not frequent any of your shops or your website for any of my future cosmetics and skincare purchases.

  4. This is really sad. I can’t understanding why companies are doing this… I thought China was rapidly working to change their policies. Maybe that’s not true, but if it is, why could a company not wait just a few months to SAVE LIVES?

    I saw the tweets yesterday and really hoped that it wasn’t true. Thanks for posting this and to the people who discovered this.

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