stila

Hey guys.

Maybe a week or so ago, I got in contact with stila. I emailed them using the usual format --which is will link here if you are interested. I received more than a handful of emails, so sit tight this is going to be a rather long post.

The first reply I received:

Hello,Stila does not use animals for any type of testing on our products and also choose vendors that follow the same business standards.
Kind Regards,
Stila Cosmetics Customer Care custcare@stilacosmetics.com(866) 784-5201makeup your own rules

As you can see, they did not address the China questions, whether their raw ingredients are also certified cruelty-free, and whether or not they have a parent company.
I emailed them again:

Thank you for your promote reply. I have a couple of other questions which were not directly addressed. 

1. Do you sell Stila products in China? (retail not just online).
2. Do you test ingredients or products on animals through a 3rd party?3. Do your manufacturers test ingredients or products on animals?
4. Do you have any vegan products, if which ones?
5. Do you use palm oil/ carbuna wax in your products? If so are they from an organic and/or sustainable source?  

I have one comment. Why doesn't stila become certified as cruelty-free by leaping bunny or peta? There is an entire market of people who only shop for cruelty-free products, being certified will reach that demographic.
Thank you once again.
Camila
I will publish any reply I receive on my personal blog, humanelychic.blogspot.com   

I then received a 2nd email from stila: 

Hi Camila, stila cosmetics offers high-quality products that are not animal tested.  However, we cannot certify that our products are vegan because we are not in control of the preliminary ingredient source or tools in which our products are produced and cannot ensure that they have not been used for other products that are not vegan.  You can always find a list of ingredients for all of our products on our website at www.stilacosmetics.com.  We do not authorize our products to be sold in china. As previously stated, stila does not use animals for any type of testing on our products and also choose vendors that follow the same business standards. Our customer care team will inform you comment to our public relations department. 

Kind Regards, Stila Cosmetics Customer Care custcare@stilacosmetics.com(866) 784-5201makeup your own rules 

Rather than clearing up concerns, this second email left me more confused. If stila cannot certify that their products are vegan, as they are not in control of "preliminary ingredient"; I wonder how stila certifies that the manufactures of their raw ingredients "follow the same business standards"? Also, they did not address my question about China. Therefore, I emailed them again hoping they could clear up my question:

Thank you for replying to my emails promptly and kindly. You stated : "we cannot certify that our products are vegan because we are not in control of the preliminary ingredient source or tools in which our products are produced and cannot ensure that they have not been used for other products that are not vegan." 
Can Stila certify that the ingredients they use are also not tested on animals? Also, does Stila have retail stores in China that sell the products? I know you have previously informed me that you do not "authorize" Stila products to be sold, exactly what does that mean? 
Do you only sell online? How does Stila ensure that no animal testing occurs? As you know China's law requires animal testing for beauty products to be sold in the country. 
I will be looking forward to your email. 
Camila
I will publish any reply I receive on humanelychic.blogspot.com. Which is my privately owned blog. 

I then received this 3rd email:

Hi Camila,Stila does not use animals for any type of testing on our products and also choose vendors that follow the same business standards. Stila cosmetics products are not registered to be sold in China which means we also do not have any authorized retailers located in China.An authorized retailer is a company who purchases our products directly from us through our sales department and sells our products directly to consumers. Since our products are not registered in China, this means that stila cosmetics also does not have any authorized retailers located in China.We hope this new information has been helpful and you have a wonderful day filled with lots of smiles and blushes!  

Kind Regards, Stila Cosmetics Customer Care custcare@stilacosmetics.com(866) 784-5201makeup your own rules 

Well, at least they cleared up the China question. However, I have a couple of problems with this correspondence. First, I don't understand why stila can't certify what products/ingredients are vegan.  If they are unable to certify that, how can they be sure that the manufactures of the raw ingredients also don't test on animals?

I won't be adding stila to either my cruelty-free list or my not-cruelty-free list. I need more clarification and will be calling them soon.

I was hesitant about sharing this correspondence, but I figured it would be helpful (maybe partly) to some of you. I personally, will hold off on purchasing from stila for now, I would advise you to do the same.
Meanwhile, if you have information that might clear things up, or maybe you have been in contact with stila, I would appreciate you share what they told you or share just leave me a comment about your opinion. Thank you for supporting my little o'l blog.

Until Next Time,

Camila