Is The Ordinary ethical and cruelty-free?
Mixed — The Ordinary clears 1 of 4 ethics signals and fails 2, so it depends which issue matters most to you.
The Ordinary, owned by Estée Lauder, is a transparent skincare brand known for clinical formulations and low prices. It is not certified cruelty-free by major bodies due to parent-company China sales, but it claims no animal testing and offers a fully vegan range with some sustainability initiatives.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeverified
Brand claims no animal testing, but parent company Estée Lauder sells in China where post-market testing may occur.
Vegan optionsunverified
All products are vegan and free from animal-derived ingredients.
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: Aims for 100% recycled or recyclable packaging by 2025; parent company targets 50% reduction in virgin plastic by 2030.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-12.
More on The Ordinary
Is The Ordinary ethical? FAQs
Is The Ordinary cruelty-free?+
Brand claims no animal testing, but parent company Estée Lauder sells in China where post-market testing may occur.
Does The Ordinary have vegan products?+
All products are vegan and free from animal-derived ingredients.
Does The Ordinary sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is The Ordinary's ethics score?+
The Ordinary averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to The Ordinary?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to The Ordinary for better-scoring options in the same categories.