Too Faced

Is Too Faced an ethical brand?

Estée Lauder Companies Inc., which owns a number of subsidiary brands, including Too Faced., receives a subpar ethical grade from The Good Shopping Guide. Unfortunately, as shown by its poor Good Shopping Guide ethical rating in our Ethical Make Up Ratings Table, this brand currently scores poorly for most of our research categories. Before Too Faced is qualified for our Ethical Accreditation, a number of improvements must be made.

Estée Lauder Companies and Too Faced’s involvement with GMOs and Animal Testing 

The parent firm of Too Faced, Estée Lauder, is not certified as Cruelty-Free and has a lax Animal Welfare code. Regarding animal experiments, Estée Lauder made an unclear and seemingly contradictory comment.

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.”

Are Too Faced cosmetics vegan? 

Too Faced is not vegan. Since it neither manufactures nor sells any vegan or vegetarian products, Estée Lauder, the firm’s parent company, receives a low Good Shopping Guide rating in this research category. Cosmetics made by Too Faced include lanolin, a waxy material made by sheep. Additionally, Too Faced products contain carmine, which is derived from crushed beetles.

Estée Lauder, Too Faced and colourism

The promotion of skin-lightening cosmetics and skincare products by well-known cosmetics corporations including Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Beiersdorf has drawn criticism since this supports discriminatory practices. Estée Lauder has reviewed its own whitening products in light of criticism during 2020. 

Too Faced and Human Rights abuses

According to an investigation by the Associated Press, Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil farms expose women to inhumane labour practices, such as physical and sexual assault and exposure to harmful chemicals. On one plantation, women who had sprayed dangerous pesticides for years without any protective gear complained of fevers, coughing, and nosebleeds. Girls as young as 16 reported being sexually assaulted by supervisors and other employees on another plantation. These women barely make $2 each day, therefore they cannot afford to go to the doctor. The plantations and fields where these crimes occurred have been linked to the production of palm oil for well-known cosmetics corporations like Avon, Colgate-Palmolive, Coty, Estée Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Kylie Cosmetics, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.

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

How can Too Faced improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide assesses Too Faced’s score using 15 ethical criteria. Several ethical issues that Too Faced needs to address and clarify 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.