Bobbi Brown

Is Bobbi Brown an ethical brand?

Estée Lauder Companies Inc, which owns many subsidiary brands, including Bobbi Brown, is given a bad ethical grade by The Good Shopping Guide. Unfortunately, as shown by its poor Good Shopping Guide Ethical rating in our Ethical Makeup Ratings Table, this brand currently does not adhere to our basic ethical standards. For Bobbi Brown to qualify for our Ethical Accreditation, a number of changes must be made.

Estée Lauder Companies and Bobbi Brown’s involvement with GMOs and Animal Testing

Bobbi Brown’s parent company, Estée Lauder, is not Cruelty-Free and does not receive a high Good Shopping Guide rating for its Animal Welfare policy. Much like similarly notorious conglomerate, L’Oreal, Estée Lauder has released a vague and confusing Animal Testing statement, that seems to contradict itself. 

Estée Lauder states, “More than 30 years ago, The Estée Lauder Companies was one of the first cosmetics companies to eliminate animal testing as a method of determining cosmetic product safety. We don’t test our products on animals and we don’t ask others to test for us. We acknowledge our brands are sold in countries where animal testing on cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients is required by law.”

This rather paradoxical statement doesn’t make it clear if animal testing is indeed conducted on the products that are sold in countries that require animal experimentation. 

Are Bobbi Brown cosmetics vegan? 

Bobbi Brown is not vegan. Its parent company, Estée Lauder does not produce or sell any products that are Vegan/ Vegetarian and therefore receives a low Good Shopping Guide score in this research category. Bobbi Brown’s cosmetics include ingredients such as lanolin, which is a waxy substance produced by sheep.

Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown and colourism

Major companies in the cosmetics sector, such as Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Beiersdorf, have come under fire for pushing skin-lightening goods; skin-lightening make up and skincare supports colourism. Estée Lauder has reviewed its own whitening products in light of criticism during 2020. 

Bobbi Brown and Human Rights abuses

According to an investigation by the Associated Press, women are subjected to cruel labour practises in Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil farms, including physical and sexual assault and exposure to toxic chemicals. On one plantation, women who had spent years spraying harmful pesticides without any safety equipment reported fevers, coughing, and nosebleeds. On another plantation, girls as young as 16 reported sexual abuse from managers and other staff. These women cannot afford to visit a doctor since they only make $2 each day. The palm oil production for well-known cosmetics companies like Avon, Colgate-Palmolive, Coty, Estée Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Kylie Cosmetics, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever has been connected to the plantations and fields where these atrocities took place.

Please be aware, that the article from The Associated Press contains some very upsetting details.

In what areas does Bobbi Brown perform well ethically?

There are numerous goals and indicators of environmental progress in its latest sustainability report, including targets for reducing carbon emissions, water and packaging. This demonstrates that Bobbi Brown’s parent company is making some attempt to reduce its environmental impact.

How can Bobbi Brown improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide calculates Bobbi Brown’s score based on multiple ethical standards. A variety of ethical issues that Bobbi Brown needs to clarify and resolve include its stance on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Animal Welfare, and its parent company Estée Lauder’s involvement in the unethical manufacturing of palm oil.