Is The Ordinary Cruelty Free and Vegan? (2024 Update)

The Ordinary is 100% cruelty free. Their ingredients and finished products are never tested on animals.

Additionally, The Ordinary is 100% vegan as a brand. That means that none of their products contain any animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

If you want to learn more about this awesome and ethical skincare brand, keep on reading.

And if you’re looking to update your skin care routine with some new products by The Ordinary, check out the last section where I’ve listed some of their best products.

Let’s dive right in!

Is The Ordinary cruelty free? Are The Ordinary products tested on animals?

The Ordinary doesn’t test on animals and is 100% cruelty free.

• The Ordinary finished products aren’t tested on animals by anyone, anywhere in the world
• The ingredients used in their products are never tested on animals by anyone, anywhere in the world
• Third parties never test The Ordinary products on animals
• The Ordinary is not sold in mainland China, or in any country where animal testing is still required by law

The Ordinary is certified as cruelty free by PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies program, as well as Leaping Bunny (which is one of the strictest cruelty free certifications).

If you’re confused by the different certifications and want to know the differences between them, check out my post Cruelty Free Certifications Explained: Who Can You Trust?.

The Ordinary proudly shares their animal testing policy on their website:

As required by the European Cosmetics Regulations, we only work with suppliers who do not perform animal testing. Since that regulation came into force, it has pushed cosmetic raw material suppliers to replace animal testing with available alternatives to support the safety of their ingredients. DECIEM and The Ordinary do not test on animals and do not ask others to do so. For this reason, none of our brands or products are sold in stores or conventional retailers in mainland China, since such sales require animal testing for registration purposes.

source: The Ordinary

Keep on reading for more information!

Is The Ordinary sold in China?

No, The Ordinary products are NOT sold in physical stores in mainland China.

Why can’t cruelty free brands sell in mainland China?

Animal testing is still happening for products sold in physical stores in mainland China.

Pre-market animal testing is required for all special-use imported products, and non-routine post-market testing on animals may also be done in cases of customer complaints.

However, please keep in mind that this doesn’t apply to products sold in stores at the airports, or in Hong Kong.

Also, products can be sold online and shipped to mainland China without being tested on animals.

Is The Ordinary owned by a parent brand? If yes, is it cruelty free?

The Ordinary is owned by DECIEM, a cruelty free company.

This is what DECIEM has to say about animal testing:

DECIEM does not test on animals and does not ask others to do so. For this reason, none of our brands or products are sold in brick and mortar stores in China. We currently sell to customers in Mainland China through cross-border operations, to completely avoid animal testing practices.

DECIEM has been certified with the Leaping Bunny stamp of approval, a widely recognized standard for personal care and household products.

DECIEM also owns other brands: NIOD, Hylamide, Chemistry Brand and HIF, all of which are 100% cruelty free and certified by Leaping Bunny.

However, you should also know that in June 2017, Estée Lauder (a company that tests on animals) made an investment in DECIEM, and is now holding 28% stake in the company.

Soon after the investment, founder and then-CEO Brandon Trauxe said as part of a statement regarding the collaboration between DECIEM and Estée Lauder:

We will not change. We continue not to test on animals.

An excerpt from a statement by Brandon Trauxe
Source: DECIEM’s website

Although unrelated to their cruelty free status, DECIEM’s partnership with Estée Lauder has been pretty controversial.

In 2018, Estée Lauder won a lawsuit to rid DECIEM of founder and CEO Brandon Trauxe after he shut down all operations due to “financial crimes”. The details remain unknown and, unfortunately, a couple of months later Trauxe passed away. 

Despite the controversy, DECIEM and all of its brands, including The Ordinary, continue to be 100% cruelty free.

Is The Ordinary vegan?

The Ordinary is 100% vegan.

All products within The Ordinary are certified vegan by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Source: The Ordinary

So, none of their products contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

Best The Ordinary products

The Ordinary is an amazing and ethical skincare brand.

Their motto is “Clinical formulations with integrity” – and they’re telling the truth!

All products by The Ordinary are based on effective clinical technologies and contain really high-quality ingredients.

All of their products are free of parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, animal oils, coal tar dyes, formaldehyde, mercury, oxybenzone.

The best part? They’re really affordable!

If we take the fact that they’re 100% cruelty free AND vegan, and the quality of their products, as well as their price-points, The Ordinary is pretty much raising the bar for the entire skincare market.

The Ordinary is really famous for their highly-effective serums, so you should definitely check them out.

Depending on your skin issues and goals, you can try some of their best-sellers such as The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA, or The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5.

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Now, I’d like to hear from you!

Do you use any products by The Ordinary? What are your favorite cruelty free skincare brands?

Tell me in the comments below!