Is Glow Recipe Cruelty-Free in 2025? Insider Facts Revealed

Glow Recipe, originating from South Korea’s beauty innovations, has become one of the most loved K-beauty brands in recent years, widely available at retailers like Sephora. With their bright packaging and fruit-powered formulas, they’ve won hearts worldwide. 

But many shoppers want to know whether the brand truly upholds ethical standards: specifically, glow recipe is cruelty-free—is this claim accurate? This guide, which may contain affiliate links to support our research, covers everything you need to know about their animal testing policies, certifications, and vegan status in 2025.

Is Glow Recipe Cruelty Free?

YES, Glow Recipe is 100% cruelty-free. The brand has never tested products or ingredients on animals and holds official certification to prove it.

In the beauty world, the term “cruelty-free means a company doesn’t test their products or ingredients on animals at any stage. This includes initial components, finished products, and third-party testing. For a company to be truly cruelty-free, it must adhere to strict guidelines, and brands must meet five key rules:

1. No finished products are tested on animals
2. No testing of ingredients on animals
3. No testing by suppliers or third parties, ensuring suppliers test on animals is not part of their process.
4. No testing in markets where required by law
5. No parent company that conducts animal testing

Glow Recipe passes all five tests, maintaining strict policies against animal testing. On their website, they clearly state: “Glow Recipe Skincare is Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free! We do not test our formulas on animals.” Source

Glow Recipe’s Cruelty-Free Certification

Glow Recipe earned Leaping Bunny certification in February 2020. This is the gold standard for cruelty-free brands anywhere in the world.

The Leaping Bunny Program is stricter than other certifications. While some believe companies can be fully cruelty-free without being certified, this certification provides an extra layer of trust. Companies must:

• Sign a pledge against animal testing
• Allow independent audits of their supply chain
• Recommit annually to their promise
• Meet ongoing monitoring requirements

You can verify Glow Recipe’s certification on the official Leaping Bunny website. Their listing, a key indicator of their ethical practices, confirms they create “skincare that is clean, fruit-powered, unapologetically fun” while maintaining cruelty-free standards. Source

Unlike PETA’s certification, Leaping Bunny requires independent audits. This means they actually check if companies keep their promises. It’s why many shoppers trust Leaping Bunny more than other programs.

Does Glow Recipe Test on Animals?

No, Glow Recipe does not test on animals and has never done so. They’ve been cruelty-free since day one, and it’s confirmed they do not test through their certifications and public statements. This means their products are not tested on living creatures at any point.

The company carefully checks their entire supply chain, ensuring no ingredients on animals, and asks for such testing is part of their sourcing. All ingredient suppliers must agree not to test on animals or ask others to do so. This covers both new and existing ingredients used in their formulas.

Furthermore, Glow Recipe is committed to ethical practices and doesn’t allow third-party testing on animals. Some companies claim to be cruelty-free but let other companies ask others to test for them, or test on their behalf. Glow Recipe bans this practice completely.

Their official policy states: “Our skin-care essentials are clean, vegetarian, and Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free.” Source

Does Glow Recipe Sell in China?

No, Glow Recipe does not sell in mainland China. This is crucial for their cruelty-free status because specific animal testing laws in the country have historically posed challenges for ethical brands.

Until recently, China required mandatory animal testing for all imported cosmetics sold in physical stores or retail stores. 

Many brands that claimed to be cruelty-free lost this status when they entered the Chinese market and had to test on animals when required by law. The requirement for animal testing for cosmetics in general has been a significant barrier.

Glow Recipe has chosen to avoid mainland China sales, including in stores in China, to protect their cruelty-free promise. 

China has started changing these laws. Some cosmetics can now avoid animal testing through cross-border e-commerce. But Glow Recipe hasn’t used these new options yet. They remain completely absent from the Chinese market.

Is Glow Recipe Owned by a Parent Company?

Glow Recipe is independently owned. Co-founders Sarah Lee and Christine Chang still run the company as co-CEOs, meaning they operate independently from the parent company structure that often complicates ethical stances.

The brand started in 2014 when Lee and Chang left their jobs at major beauty companies. They wanted to create something new in the skincare world. Fortune reported that Glow Recipe has grown into a $300 million business while staying independent. Source

This independence is a good indicator of their ethical commitment regarding cruelty-free status. Many good brands owned by larger corporations lose their ethical standing when bought by a parent company that tests on animals, or where parent companies are not cruelty-free themselves. Examples include:

• Urban Decay (owned by L’Oréal)
• NYX (owned by L’Oréal)
• Burt’s Bees (owned by Clorox)
• Many brands under Estee Lauder or Procter & Gamble also face this scrutiny.

Glow Recipe avoids this potential gamble with their values by staying independent. They control their own ethical standards without outside pressure from a non-cruelty-free entity.

Is Glow Recipe Vegan?

Yes, all current Glow Recipe products are 100% vegan as of 2025. They now exclusively offer vegan formulas. Their website confirms: “No animal-derived ingredients, including fats, oils, musks” appear in any formula, meaning none of their products contain animal-derived ingredients. Source

This wasn’t always true. The brand once made a specific product, an Avocado Melt Sleeping Mask, that contained honey. But they’ve since discontinued this product and reformulated their entire line to ensure all vegan products meet this standard.

It’s important to know the difference between “cruelty-free” and “vegan,” as a brand can be cruelty-free but still not offer vegan products even if animal testing is avoided:

• Cruelty-free means no animal testing
• Vegan means no animal ingredients

Common non-vegan ingredients to watch for, to check if a product contains them, include:

• Honey and beeswax (from bees)
• Carmine (red dye from beetles)
• Collagen (from animal skin)
• Lanolin (from sheep wool)

Glow Recipe avoids all these ingredients. Their fruit-forward approach makes vegan formulation natural for the brand.

Comparing Glow Recipe to Other K-Beauty Brands

Here’s how Glow Recipe compares to other popular K-beauty brands. This list of cruelty-free brands also highlights their vegan status:

Other great cruelty-free K-beauty alternatives include:

• Purito – Clean, affordable skincare
• Haruharu Wonder – Fermented rice-based products
• I’m From – Natural ingredient-focused brand
• Round Lab – Gentle, effective formulas

Beyond Cruelty-Free: Glow Recipe’s Sustainable Practices

Glow Recipe goes beyond just being cruelty-free. They’re working on many sustainability goals as part of a broader ethical initiative.

Recyclable Packaging: The brand uses recyclable materials for bottles and tubes. Their signature glass droppers can be recycled in most areas.

Clean Ingredients: All formulas avoid parabens, sulfates, and other harsh chemicals. They focus on fruit extracts and proven actives instead. They are also transparent about ingredient sourcing, which is important for components like mica, where ethical sourcing is a concern (though Glow Recipe primarily focuses on fruit extracts).

Ethical Sourcing: Ingredients come from suppliers who meet strict ethical standards for all products made. This includes fair labor practices and environmental protection. While many K-beauty products originate in Korea and some are made there, Glow Recipe also has products made in the U.S., always upholding these standards.

Social Responsibility: As Korean-American founders, Lee and Chang support diversity in beauty. They’ve spoken about creating opportunities for women of color in the industry.

According to their sustainability page, “Our products are all 100% vegan and cruelty-free in addition to being Leaping Bunny Certified.” Source

Conclusion

Glow Recipe is definitely cruelty-free and vegan in 2025. They hold the highest certification available and have never wavered on their ethical stance, demonstrating that companies can be fully cruelty-free and successful. The brand avoids markets that require animal testing and stays independent to protect their values.

For conscious beauty shoppers who carefully consider whether a product aligns with their ethics, Glow Recipe offers peace of mind. You can enjoy Glow Recipe’s products, like their watermelon glow and plum plump items, knowing no animals were harmed. Their transparency about ingredients and testing makes them a trustworthy choice.

FAQs About Glow Recipe and Cruelty-Free Beauty