Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Eco Elsie
First Aid Beauty was founded by Lilli Gordon back in 2008, after being inspired for years by her grandmother who had a natural glow to their healthy-looking skin.
FAB now offers a range of effective products that are targeted at people with sensitive or problematic skin.
Today we’ll be taking a closer look into the ethics of First Aid Beauty and whether they are considered cruelty-free or vegan brands.
Is First Aid Beauty Cruelty-free?
No, First Aid Beauty cannot be considered fully cruelty-free.
First Aid Beauty pride itself on the claim that they are a 100% cruelty-free company and they’re even a PETA-certified Beauty Without Bunnies partner.
They do not test any of their products or ingredients on animals and only work with business partners who respect this policy.
They also have a verification from PETA that confirms First Aid Beauty or their ingredients supplier conducts, commissions, or pays for any tests on animals for any of their ingredients or finished products.
However, back in 2018, Procter & Gamble (P&B) acquired First Aid Beauty for a sum of over $250 million. P&G is unfortunately not a cruelty-free organization and also tests on animals when required to do so by law.
There is also controversy surrounding First Aid Beauty’s claim to being cruelty-free as they now sell their products in mainland China, a country that requires animal testing on cosmetic products by law.
First Aid Beauty maintains that they have worked closely with PETA and regulatory experts to distribute their products in China in a way that doesn’t require them to test on animals.
However, PETA only has the power to ensure brands like First Aid Beauty that no pre-market animal testing will take place and has no authority in whether outside authorities perform post-market animal testing on products
It’s difficult to say whether brands have a say on post-market animal testing, as health and safety authorities in China can call in products for routine testing whenever they want and they do not have to notify the brand beforehand.
These post-market animal tests are used for health and safety concerns or complaints by consumers and brands must comply with this by Chinese law.
PETA claims that the Chinese authorities will notify the brand if there has been a consumer complaint and the brand suspends distribution in China.
However, as the post-market animal tests are a part of Chinese law, we doubt they would contact PETA or First Aid Beauty to notify them that animal testing on their products is taking place.
Is First Aid Beauty vegan?
First Aid Beauty does have some products that are vegan. Some of their most popular vegan products are their Facial Radiance Pads, Ultra Repair Facial Moisturizer, and their Detox Eye Roller.
You’ll be able to find out whether a First Aid Beauty product is vega or not by checking out the product description on their website.
However, in our eyes, First Aid Beauty does not qualify to be a vegan brand as they are not completely cruelty-free.
Is First Aid Beauty an ethical company?
First Aid Beauty is based in the US and also manufactures its products in the US, so you know that these products should hopefully be designed well and made ethically.
First Aid Beauty does sell vegan products but does not market themselves as a fully vegan brand, so it’s fair to assume that they do have some products that contain animal-derived ingredients otherwise they would label themselves as a vegan brand.
Their ethics regarding animal testing is still being debated as they’re reluctant to withdraw sales from China, even though there’s no clarity on whether their products get tested on animals for post-market tests.
However, FAB (First Aid Beauty) does have a PETA certification and it does state that their products do not get tested on animals for pre-market testing in China, which suggests that their morals are in the right place and they are heading in the right direction.
First Aid Beauty does have an initiative called FAB AID, which gives graduates a chance to win up to $100,000 each to pay off their student debts.
There is no readily available information regarding FAB’s stance or position on sustainability, environmental and inclusive workforces anywhere online.
However, we do know that FAB is owned by Procter & Gamble and the parent company states that they want all its brand packaging to be 100% recyclable or reusable by 2030.
P&G is also committed to reducing its supply chain footprint by using renewable energy and cutting emissions in the majority of its sites.
P&G is also working on collaborations with organizations to increase the global area of forests and also improve the livelihoods of small palm farmers.
P&G is working on an initiative that will propel gender equality across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
Some of these declarations involve spending $200 million working with women-owned businesses across these regions, introducing a new parental leave policy, and also aiming to achieve a 50-50 gender balance across the companies’ management workforce.
Does First Aid Beauty test on animals?
No, First Aid Beauty does not test any of their products or ingredients on animals.
However, they do sell some of their products in China, but due to the limited ingredients list in the products they are selling there, they do not have to go through pre-market animal testing.
This does not make the products exempt from post-market animal testing by outside authorities though, so we cannot say for definite if their products are tested on animals or not.
Are First Aid Beauty products toxic?
All First Aid Beauty’s products are fragrance-free, free of parabens, and have a massive list of over 1,300 ingredients that they are against using in any of their products.
FAB’s mission is to achieve maximum results of healthy and happy skin for all skin types, so make sure all their products are suitable for sensitive skin and allergy-tested.
