Is Vaseline ethical and cruelty-free?
Not really — Vaseline fails 3 of the 4 ethics signals we track, including its animal-testing position, and holds no third-party certification we can verify.
Vaseline, owned by Unilever, is a widely recognized skincare brand primarily known for its petroleum jelly products. While it lacks major ethical certifications and is not entirely cruelty-free (selling in China), it has made notable sustainability pledges, including recyclable packaging and fair sourcing of petroleum jelly.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeflagged
Brand sells in China, where post-market animal testing may be required for imported cosmetics; Unilever states it does not test on animals except where required by law.
Vegan optionsunverified
Limited; classic petroleum jelly is vegan, but not all products are labeled as such and some contain 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: 100% recyclable packaging by 2025, 50% recycled plastic in bottles, responsible petroleum jelly sourcing by 2025, and halving virgin plastic use by 2025.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-11.
More on Vaseline
Is Vaseline ethical? FAQs
Is Vaseline cruelty-free?+
Brand sells in China, where post-market animal testing may be required for imported cosmetics; Unilever states it does not test on animals except where required by law.
Does Vaseline have vegan products?+
Limited; classic petroleum jelly is vegan, but not all products are labeled as such and some contain animal-derived ingredients.
Does Vaseline sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is Vaseline's ethics score?+
Vaseline averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to Vaseline?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to Vaseline for better-scoring options in the same categories.