Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Eco Elsie
In the modern world we are constantly keeping an eye on the ethics and cruelty to animals acts. The most closely watched products in these areas are focused in on beauty products.
With it being well known throughout the world that in the past, makeups and beauty creams were testing on animals in laboratories.
Animal testing and unethical practices led to the deaths and suffering of many animals, and so PETA and other animal conservation and protection agencies got involved.
Now we watch as more and more companies get the ‘cruelty-free’ bunny sticker, but what does this mean? Does it mean that we can be 100% certain that not a single product by this company has been tested on animals?
Or, should you be concerned that your hard-earned cash is going into a company that somewhere down the line, tests one or two products on animals, or even uses unsustainable sourcing?
And most of all, can you trust ‘MAC’ in their ‘cruelty-free’ claims? The answer… No, you can’t.
Is Mac Vegan?
If you are vegan and are looking for a new makeup range that will rock your world. Stay away from MAC cosmetics. They are not vegan at all.
MAC uses animal derived ingredients such as carmine and beeswax to make a large sum of their makeup range. This being said, not all of their makeups are non-vegan, they do have some products which are indeed vegan.
Their eye makeup product and some of their other products are vegan and do not contain animal byproducts, notably; some of their brow pencils, some of their brow finishers, some eye pencils, some eye shadows, some concealers, some cream color bases and more.
To be put simply, not their whole line is vegan, and what of it is vegan is not as black and white as you might hope. Some of each of their products are vegan and some are not.
The only one we definitely know is vegan is their MAC Pro Lash Mascara, that one is vegan.
Although it is hard to get a full on point list, you can contact the MAC customer service line and get a full product list that tells you which products do and do not contain animal byproducts, such as carmine, lanolin, or beeswax.
Is Mac an Ethical Company?
When looking into the ethics of a company there is a lot of ground to cover. MAC is owned 100% by the conglomerate organization Estee Lauder.
Estee Lauder is a company with many subsidiaries that focus on cosmetics, skin care, and fragrances.
Their ethics is complicated. They have a commendable rating on their climate change, water security, and forests, as well as corporate equality.
However, they have also been criticized in the uses and sourcing of palm coil, animal testing, deforestation, tax avoidance and more.
It is safe to say that while they have a green ranking of over 50%, and they have a high score in their CDP Climate change score, they have many ratings that are not so hot, with their sourcing of palm oil, and their animal testing alone being huge problems for the eco-friendly community.
When it comes to the CEO pay ratio as well it sits at 697:1, which is outrageously high, and couple that with tax avoidance, it becomes problematic.
So to answer the question, ‘are MAC ethical’, we are going to say no. Because any company managed under Estee Lauder is influenced by the workings of their parent company, and the parent company here, is not so good.
Does Mac Test on Animals?
Does MAC test on animals? Are they cruelty-free? To answer that second question, No, in every language. No, nein, nee, nu, nej, non.
Estee Lauder is, by definition, an animal cruelty brand. You see, while in other parts of the world they may claim they do not test on animals, they do sell in China, and to do so they must have their products go through animal testing in order for them to sell.
But it does not stop there, MAC chose monetary gain over animal welfare in 2012, as they started animal testing on their own. Funding the Chinese government to run cruelty tests on their products.
Their secrecy is also suspicious, while a majority of MAC products are made in the USA and Canada, there is not enough information at hand to know if MAC makes any of their products in China, and therefore, it is very hard to know just what quantity of their products go through animal testing.
What you can know though is, if you buy yourself MAC products from a Chinese seller online. They have been animal tested.
Are Mac products Toxic?
It is sad to say that MAC cosmetic really are not all that safe. Not all MAC is toxic, but their lipsticks certainly are. They contain class 3 carcinogens, these give their lipsticks their vibrant colors, but at the same time can be very damaging to health.
Especially considering they are used on lips and this could lead to accidental consumption and absorption. Its just not worth it.
Their super popular fix fluid makeup foundation is also a hazard. There is a huge number of toxic ingredients in this that can enter your bloodstream; ethyllexyl methoxycinnamate, and tocopheryl acetate are just too of these.
But not only this, you may come across one of the cheaper knock off varieties that are just as if not even more harmful, these include copper, lead, and mercury which are all highly toxic to humans!
Their face and body foundation is also on the list, containing propylparaben, which is a preservative. However, this is very harmful and can have serious effects on your reproductive health too.
It can also has the ability to damage anything connected to your hormonal structuring and can lead to the development of tumors, birth defects and more. It’s safe to say, stay away!
