Is Urban Decay ethical and cruelty-free?
Not really — Urban Decay fails 3 of the 4 ethics signals we track, including its animal-testing position, and holds no third-party certification we can verify.
Urban Decay, a subsidiary of L'Oréal, offers a popular vegan-friendly makeup line but lacks comprehensive sustainability initiatives and faces ethical concerns due to its parent company's animal testing practices in China.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeflagged
Brand does not test on animals but products may be subject to China's mandatory testing due to L'Oréal ownership.
Vegan optionsunverified
Over 40% of products labeled vegan; not fully vegan.
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: 30% CO2 reduction per product by 2025, FSC-certified cartons, increased recycled packaging content.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-13.
More on Urban Decay
Is Urban Decay ethical? FAQs
Is Urban Decay cruelty-free?+
Brand does not test on animals but products may be subject to China's mandatory testing due to L'Oréal ownership.
Does Urban Decay have vegan products?+
Over 40% of products labeled vegan; not fully vegan.
Does Urban Decay sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is Urban Decay's ethics score?+
Urban Decay averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to Urban Decay?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to Urban Decay for better-scoring options in the same categories.