Is Listerine ethical and cruelty-free?
Not really — Listerine fails 3 of the 4 ethics signals we track, including its animal-testing position, and holds no third-party certification we can verify.
Listerine, owned by Johnson & Johnson, is a widely recognized oral care brand with limited public ethical commitments, no major controversies, but lacking comprehensive certifications, vegan labeling, or robust sustainability transparency.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeflagged
Johnson & Johnson does not test on animals except where required by law (e.g., China), with a goal to phase out by 2025.
Vegan optionsunverified
No vegan-certified range; some products may contain animal-derived glycerin.
Sells in mainland Chinaflagged
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
Third-party certifiedflagged
No independent certifications recorded on the products we track.
Public pledges: Parent company Johnson & Johnson has carbon neutrality and plastic reduction goals, but no specific pledges for Listerine.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-12.
More on Listerine
Is Listerine ethical? FAQs
Is Listerine cruelty-free?+
Johnson & Johnson does not test on animals except where required by law (e.g., China), with a goal to phase out by 2025.
Does Listerine have vegan products?+
No vegan-certified range; some products may contain animal-derived glycerin.
Does Listerine sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is Listerine's ethics score?+
Listerine averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to Listerine?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to Listerine for better-scoring options in the same categories.