Is Faber-Castell ethical and cruelty-free?
Mostly — Faber-Castell scores 79.3/100. It clears our bar on 2 of 4 ethics signals, with gaps worth checking before you buy.
Faber-Castell is a historic German brand with strong sustainability credentials, including FSC and PEFC certifications, climate neutrality, and a clear stance against animal testing, though its publicly available labor transparency and full vegan product range details are limited. It scores highly for environmental responsibility but lacks depth in social auditing disclosures.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeverified
Faber-Castell does not test finished products or ingredients on animals and follows EU regulations.
Vegan optionsunverified
The Eco-Shield and Eco-Friendly Drawing Pencil sets are vegan-certified; Polychromos may contain animal-derived binders.
Sells in mainland Chinaflagged
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
Third-party certifiedverified
We record 5 distinct certifications across this brand's products.
Public pledges: Climate neutral operations since 2016, FSC/PEFC wood sourcing, and use of recycled materials in select product lines.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-02.
Faber-Castell products we score
A staple for any artist, these professional-grade pencils are crafted from 100% FSC-certified wood and finished with eco-friendly water-based varnish in a carbon-neutral manufacturing process.
A legacy brand offering high-performance pencils sourced from sustainably managed company-owned forests with a carbon-neutral production cycle.
High-quality colored pencils from a legacy brand leading the way in sustainable forestry and carbon-neutral manufacturing.
More on Faber-Castell
Is Faber-Castell ethical? FAQs
Is Faber-Castell cruelty-free?+
Faber-Castell does not test finished products or ingredients on animals and follows EU regulations.
Does Faber-Castell have vegan products?+
The Eco-Shield and Eco-Friendly Drawing Pencil sets are vegan-certified; Polychromos may contain animal-derived binders.
Does Faber-Castell sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is Faber-Castell's ethics score?+
Faber-Castell averages 79.3/100 across 3 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to Faber-Castell?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to Faber-Castell for better-scoring options in the same categories.