Yes, Essence is cruelty-free. The company has never conducted any testing on animals whatsoever, and none of their ingredients or products are tested on animals. Essence is also part of the official list of PETA Deutschland e.V. for cosmetics without animal testing. However, some of their products contain animal-derived ingredients, so they are not 100% vegan. The company has implemented measures to reduce CO2 emissions and is part of various initiatives such as the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) . Some of their products contain questionable ingredients, so users are advised to check the label for all ingredient content.