SOME BY MI is a K-Beauty brand that sets out to solve skin care problems with natural ingredients and clinical research. Promising always to be gentle on the skin, we wish the brand was also gentle on the earth with cruelty-free and vegan policies.
SOME BY MI is not 100% cruelty-free or vegan as its products are sold where animal testing is required by law. It also cannot be considered vegan as it is not cruelty-free.
And all the chic bottles and rave reviews online do little to cover that up.
So before you get too excited about buying these innovative products – you need to understand what you’re buying into (and it’s not so pretty).
However, if you are looking for alternatives to SOME BY MI in the same price range with the same quality, click here.
SOME BY MI Ethical Overview
SOME BY MI is Not Cruelty-Free
Test any of its products or ingredients on animals
NO
Purchase any ingredients tested on animals within its supply chain
MAYBE
Distribute its products to any countries that require animal testing by law.
MAYBE
SOME BY MI is independently owned by Lee Ji Eun, it’s founder and current CEO.
Does SOME BY MI Test on Animals?
SOME BY MI does not discuss animal testing. However, the brand may be sold in regions where animal testing is required by law- like mainland China.
What Is SOME BY MI’s Cruelty-Free Status in 2023?
SOME BY MI does not have an official statement regarding its cruelty-free policies and vegan products on its website:
SOME BY MI Has No Cruelty-Free Certification
SOME BY MI doesn’t claim to be cruelty-free and doesn’t have any certification either.
Ideally, all brands that consider themselves cruelty-free should be Leaping Bunny certified.
While you might know PETA very well – it surprisingly doesn't hold the strictest cruelty-free regulations. Leaping Bunny certification is the gold standard to live up to.
Did you know that in the US, most animal testing is regulated by the Animal Welfare Act (1966)? If you did know this, did you know that this act does not include birds, rats, and mice, which make up 95% of animals used in research?
Is SOME BY MI Sold Where Animal Testing is Required By Law?
It’s unclear whether SOME BY MI distributes its products in China, where animal testing on cosmetics is required as products arrive at the border.
China has a shocking track record. It is the country with the most animal testing globally, with over 20 million animals used per year.
However, if you live in China or are concerned about its cruel beauty policies, there are a couple of loopholes.
Here's how to find cruelty-free cosmetics in China: Are Cosmetics Made in China Cruelty-Free?SOME BY MI is Not Vegan
Although SOME BY MI may have some formulas free from animal by-products and even has a ‘Free From Animals’ claim online, the brand is in a grey area.
Without an animal testing policy or cruelty-free certification, no products free from animals derived ingredients could be considered vegan.
The brand also uses some non-vegan ingredients!
Some of the most common animal-derived ingredients that SOME BY MI uses are: (honey / beeswax / propolis / snail mucin)
If you're interested in finding vegan brand alternatives – keep reading.
Vegan Alternatives to SOME BY MI
Brand | price range | 100% vegan | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
$5 - $15 | Yes | PETA, Leaping Bunny | |
$20 - $50 | Yes | PETA, KARA | |
$5 - $70 | Yes | Leaping Bunny | |
$5 - $20 | Yes | Leaping Bunny | |
$15 - $30 | Yes | Leaping Bunny |
SOME BY MI is Not Considered Natural and Organic
SOME BY MI isn’t considered natural or organic.
However, it does claim to create safe, effective formulas that often use natural and organic ingredients.
All products use a certain amount of synthetic ingredients in their formulas. SOME BY MI is no exception – but it does choose to use better or clean synthetics.If a synthetic ingredient is "clean," it means it is safe and non-toxic for us. Its purpose is to preserve the stability of a beauty formulation.
SOME BY MI Has A 91% Allergen-Free Ranking
According to Skin Safe, SOME BY MI has a 91% allergen-free ranking, but only two products are listed.
Many of SOME BY MI’s products are free of allergens such as parabens, topical antibiotics, gluten, coconut, MI/MCI, nickel, soy, dye, and SLS.
Reading the ingredient list is crucial because SOME BY MI is not 100% hypoallergenic or non-comedogenic, and they do not claim to be.
However, certain products are specifically for these concerns, so make sure you buy what your skin needs.
The EU/UK Have Stricter Ingredient Regulations
We don’t want to scare you, but you HAVE to read up on any product’s ingredient list before you make a purchase – especially if you live within the United States. The reason why will shock you.
The FDA has only banned or restricted 11 harmful chemicals from cosmetics within the country. Europe and the UK, on the other hand, have banned 1,328!
SOME BY MI is not a clean beauty brand, but they do not formulate with skin-harming ingredients. This means you shouldn’t worry about any serious hidden nasties in its products.
But it’s still worth knowing that with skincare, you want to avoid these ingredients:
SOME BY MI Is Not Sustainable and Ethical
We got all of our information from the American SOME BY MI website which doesn’t mention sustainability at all.
Although the Korean website for SOME BY MI does have a sustainability menu, none of the text could be translated into English.
So, we also turned to Instagram and global sites selling SOME BY MI. No ethical or sustainability information could be found.
Final Thoughts
We know that SOME BY MI is not cruelty-free or vegan, so it’s a no-go for animal activists and vegans.
It’s hard to say if SOME BY MI is doing enough for the environment because they don’t tell us. Trusting this brand is tough without communicating an animal-testing policy, sustainability work, supply chain transparency, or ethical initiatives.
We think finding a way to tell customers what they are doing would be the start, but SOME BY MI has a way to go.
