NIOD (Non-Invasive Options in Dermal Science) was launched by Deciem as its most advanced skincare line, emphasizing clinical formulations and scientific credibility over traditional beauty marketing. It quickly earned recognition for technical rigor and minimalist design.
In 2021, Estée Lauder acquired full ownership of Deciem, bringing NIOD under the control of a global conglomerate. Estée Lauder products are sold in markets such as mainland China, where animal testing is required by law.
Estée Lauder’s chairman, Ronald Lauder, also serves as president of the Jewish National Fund, which controls 13% of land in Israel and excludes Palestinians from leasing or purchasing it. The JNF funds illegal settlement expansion and military-linked charities. NIOD’s association with Estée Lauder links it to these wider ethical and political controversies.
Estée Lauder is rated High Impact because it concentrates cultural and financial power at a global scale while channelling wealth into one of the most entrenched institutions of Israeli apartheid. With Ronald Lauder at the helm of the Jewish National Fund, the company is directly bound to the mechanisms of land confiscation, settlement growth, and military-aligned infrastructure in Palestine.
The impact is structural: dozens of distinct brands—from mass-market staples like Clinique and Rimmel to luxury houses like La Mer and Tom Ford Beauty—all funnel revenue into the same corporate centre. Every purchase strengthens a conglomerate that not only profits from extractive and exploitative supply chains but also invests in political projects sustaining dispossession.
Where other beauty firms may be complicit through regulatory concessions such as animal testing in China, Estée Lauder stands out because its leadership transforms consumer spending into political capital for an apartheid regime. That combination of market dominance and direct political entanglement makes it one of the most urgent boycott targets in the sector.