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Is Glow Recipe Cruelty-Free?

Updated 3/28/2019

Glow Recipe is making their mark on the skincare industry building a new brand from the ground up and featuring on Shark Tank. They are a K Beauty skincare brand that also curates other K Beauty brands to help make them accessible and affordable. However, do we know if Glow Recipe is cruelty-free?

I reached out to Glow Recipe directly to discuss their cruelty-free status. This is what I received from Glow Recipe as a response:

Hi Stephanie!

Thanks for sending over the list. Glow Recipe carries our own in-house brand, Glow Recipe Skincare and we also curate other Korean skincare brands like Whamisa, Blithe, and Make P:rem among others.

1. Does the brand test your products on animals at any point in production?

Glow Recipe does not ever engage in animal testing and requires our brand partners to contractually agree to the same.

2. Are the brand’s ingredients tested on animals? How do you verify this?

Glow Recipe skincare is manufactured by our own lab in Korea who does not test on animals and sources only cruelty-free, and in fact mostly vegan, ingredients. The brands we carry also contractually agree to do the same.

3. Does the brand outsource any animal testing to a third party? 

We do not outsource any animal testing to a third party and require the same from the brands we carry.

4. Is the brand sold in countries that require animal testing by law?

You can find the list of countries we ship to here:

Glow Recipe does not currently ship to, or have a presence in China. Some of the brands we carry are available in China, including Make P:rem. Make P:rem and every brand we carry, maintains their cruelty-free status.

5. Is the brand owned by a parent company? If so, please state who.   

Glow Recipe is the parent company of Glow Recipe Skincare and does not engage in animal testing at any stage of formulation.

If I can help with anything else, do let me know!

Regards,

Lily

First, I would like to say how grateful I am for how transparent Lily was when answering my questions throughout the discussion. There are other online resources regarding Glow Recipe’s cruelty-free status that have reached out to Glow Recipe but there were gaps in their response. That led me to reaching out myself and overall this was a great discussion with a direct conclusion.

So, is Glow Recipe Cruelty-Free?

Based on this email from Glow Recipe, the Glow Recipe Skincare brand is 100% cruelty-free. Neither the final products nor the ingredients are tested on animals at any point in production or prior to sale.

However, Glow Recipe also distributes other brands beside the Glow Recipe Skincare brand. In the email, Glow Recipe stated that some of the brands they carry do sell in China where all products are still subject to animal testing, despite the 2014 law change. [You can read more on this here.] My response to that was asking them what brands they carry that do sell in China.

Hi Stephanie,

The following are brands that either ship to or have a presence in, China:

Leegeehaam

Make P:rem

Whamisa

ID.AZ

There may be others that have found their way to China through unauthorized resellers, but these are the brands who confirm they service China intentionally.

Also of note, South Korea requires by law that all cosmetic products produced in the country are cruelty-free and do not undergo animal testing. Every product we carry has been manufactured in South Korea.

If I can help with anything else, please let me know!

Regards,

Lily

In conclusion, Glow Recipe Skincare is 100% cruelty-free! Not all of the brands Glow Recipe carries are cruelty-free, though. For any brand that Glow Recipe offers outside of Glow Recipe Skincare, I would check with the brand directly on their cruelty-free practices.

Glow Recipe also offers some vegan-friendly products. Below is Glow Recipe Skincare’s current vegan product list.

Glow Recipe Vegan Products

If you found this list helpful, be sure to leave a comment below. I’d love to know your thoughts on Glow Recipe! Also, be sure to follow us on  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest as well us subscribe to our newsletter for the latest cruelty-free beauty updates.

XO, Stephanie

*This page may contain affiliate links.

5 Comments

  1. Gloria

    according to the link that Glow Recipe leave you about where do the ship their brands like Make P:rem are 100% Cruelty-free because if you look closely you’ll find that they sell to Hong Kong not to mainland China. In Hong Kong the animal testing is no obligatory as other parts of China. Brands like COSRX and Urban Decay sell in Hong Kong, but the still maintain their status as Crueltly-free brands. It’s a loophole.

    • Stephanie

      Hi Gloria! The link they sent refers to where orders from the Glow Recipe website can ship to. Shipping to China does not require animal testing and is a cruelty free way to enter China. This post only refers to Glow Recipe Skincare’s cruelty-free status and for the other brands Glow Recipe offers on their website, you can check their cruelty free statuses here: https://www.freethebunnies.com/cruelty-free-k-beauty-brands/

      Make P:rem has other distributors besides Glow Recipe, and unfortunately, they do sell in China where it is required by law.

  2. Susan McFadden

    I was very interested in purchasing sunscreen by P:rem. The China presence with animal testing dissuades me from buying it.

    • Stephanie

      Yeah, unfortunately they are not cruelty-free because they sell in China. If you need help finding 100% cruelty-free sunscreens, you can search “sunscreen” in the search box and a full shopping guide will show up. I hope that helps!

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