Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Eco Elsie
Technically, the answer is yes, Garnier is a completely cruelty free company. This is because they do not test their products on animals. Nor do they allow third parties to test on animals.
And they don’t use any ingredients that are tested on animals. They also refuse to sell their products in any country where their products would be tested on animals.
That said, Garnier is owned by L’Oréal. L’Oréal claims to be a cruelty free company. But this isn’t necessarily true. L’Oréal do not test their own products on animals. But they do allow others to.
Certain countries require imported cosmetics to be tested on animals. Until very recently, this was mostly in mainland China.
Many countries chose not to sell in China because of this. L’Oréal was not one of these countries. Instead, they chose to put profit over principle.
Another reason why L’Oréal is not completely cruelty free is that they allow some ingredients that have been tested on animals. L’Oréal has a strange loophole where they will only use an ingredient if it has been tested on animals before 2013.
Is Garnier Vegan?
Garnier is not 100% vegan. But they do have many products that are vegan. These are all labelled clearly. So you won’t have to spend ages standing in the drugstore aisle reading through the complicated ingredients list.
As veganism has become incredibly popular in recent years, more brands have begun labelling their products as vegan. Even if they are only accidentally vegan.
You will have likely seen a lot of products being suddenly declared “vegan” when they never contained any animal products in it in the first place.
So it’s important to look at the company as a whole. A lot of companies are only labelling products as vegan so that they can get in on the plant-based hype.
But, if you only want to support companies that have a vegan ethos and are entirely vegan, then it’s best to avoid Garnier.
Is Garnier an Ethical Company?
This depends on your personal ethics. If you’re looking for a company that is completely against testing on animals, then you can trust Garnier to an extent. But, as mentioned above, Garnier is owned by L’Oréal which has some questionable practices.
In terms of sustainability, Garnier is doing relatively well. A lot of their products do come in single-use plastic. And they still use single-use sheet masks and other products that are not sustainable.
But, they are working toward being sustainable. Garnier has pledged that by 2025, all of their packaging will be recyclable, reusable, or compostable. They also pledge to stop using virgin plastic by 2025.
Virgin plastic is essentially new plastic. Using virgin plastic is not sustainable, and it requires the continued production of plastic. This means that Garnier is pledging to be only using recycled plastic (or other substances) by 2025.
This is good but whether this makes Garnier an “ethical” is up for debate. You will likely have heard the term “greenwashing” used regularly in conversations around sustainability.
Greenwashing is when a non-sustainable company produces a line of eco-friendly products but doesn’t change any of their normal practices.
Greenwashing allows companies to claim that they are somewhat sustainable. But this is purely to make more money. Companies use greenwashing to simply profit from the increased interest in sustainability.
That said, companies that are entirely eco-friendly are usually more expensive and harder to come by than others. So, if all you can do is buy the eco-friendly products of greenwashing companies, this will still have an impact.
The more demand is made for sustainable products, the more companies will supply them. Eventually, if we all refuse to buy unsustainable products, companies will be forced to become sustainable.
Does Garnier Test on Animals?
Not anymore. Garnier, and its parent company L’Oréal, have previously tested on animals. They have also allowed ingredients into their products that have been tested on animals. And previously allowed third parties and certain countries to test their products on animals.
But, Garnier no longer tests their products on animals. This is a step in the right direction. But it does bring into question the ethics and attitudes of the company as a whole.
It is, of course, important for companies to know that animal testing is cruel and unacceptable. But it’s important to consider whether you want to buy from a company that previously believed this process to be accessible.
But, as mentioned above, if Garnier is the best you can get, then they are definitely an okay company to use.
Are Garnier Products Toxic?
Not necessarily. Garnier products have always had an emphasis on using natural ingredients. Garnier first made an entirely plant-based shampoo in 1904. This wasn’t an attempt to be a plant-based or vegan company. But rather a way of using entirely natural and nontoxic ingredients.
But, that doesn’t mean that all of Garnier products contain nontoxic ingredients. Back in 1904, there were a lot of companies that used ingredients that would never be used today (looking at you, Coca-Cola).
Garnier doesn’t use anything particularly aggressive or dangerous in their products. But some of their products do contain ingredients that aren’t as great for your skin as they claim.
One example of this is Garnier’s incredibly popular micellar water. The ingredients aren’t necessarily “toxic”. But Garnier micellar water includes fragrances that are unnecessary and can damage your skin.
Fragrances must be included on product ingredient lists. But they do not need to be listed as more than “fragrance”. This means that the consumer does not know exactly what ingredients are used within the fragrance.
That said, it’s important to question the use of the term “toxic”. Clean beauty has a lot to answer for when it comes to companies feeling as though they cannot use certain ingredients.
This is especially true whenever a product has anything that is considered a “chemical”. But, don’t be put off by this word. Chemicals are not always dangerous nor corrosive. Remember, water contains chemicals.
