List of cruelty-free Korean beauty brands (skincare and makeup)

(Last updated: September 2021)

Below is a comprehensive list of cruelty-free K-Beauty brands that don’t test on animals, at least to my best knowledge. I based this list off official or reputable Korean and international sources, let me know if you have any information that contradicts any of the below statements and I’ll gladly look into it.

Please note that this is only a list of cruelty-free K-Beauty brands, not vegan brands. Meaning that some of the brands below don’t test on animals but might still use ingredients of animal origin (such as snail mucin and the likes). If you’re interested in a list of vegan Korean brands, I will make a separate a list.

Notes on this list

I decided to not include any brand that, despite being listed as cruelty-free K-beauty brands on some retailer websites, didn’t provide any public statement or certification to back up this claim.

The label ‘Unclear‘ indicates that the information currently available is inconsistent and/or contradictory. For instance, the retailer Peach&Lily says to have received a cruelty-free guarantee from Mizon, but an article from a prominent Korean financial magazine reports that Mizon performs animal tests in China. The brand hasn’t responded to these claims, making it hard to make a final judgement on their cruelty-free stance.

The label ‘Unconfirmed‘ indicates a company which previously claimed to not perform any animal tests by law, but that has failed to provide KARA with an official update in 2019.

This list took months of research, so I kindly ask you to credit my work if you’re using or referring to this post on your website.

*Owned by a parent company that runs / pays for animal tests where they are required by law.
†Brands that received a Chinese FDA certification but haven’t yet clarified if they had to perform animal tests to obtain it.

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