If you want to buy products that haven’t been tested on animals, how do you know what to look for to be sure they are cruelty free?
When you’re out shopping, it can be quite hard to be sure that products are have not been tested on animals, even if you know what to look for. This is because the term ‘cruelty free’ isn’t regulated which means that companies can claim to be without having been certified.
So, how can you tell if a product is tested on animals?
Fortunately, there is a quick and easy way to know if a product is cruelty free. There are two logos or symbols to look for:
- Cruelty Free International’s Leaping Bunny logo
- PETA’s Global Beauty without Bunnies logo
Which cruelty free logo is the best?
Cruelty Free International’s Leaping Bunny Programme
Due to their very rigorous criteria, the Leaping Bunny Programme is generally considered to be the best assurance that cosmetics, household, cleaning and personal care products have not been tested on animals. Their criteria goes beyond any laws that might govern animal testing in a particular country.
Their internationally recognised programme ensures that brands:
- don’t carry out their own animal testing or fund third parties or suppliers to carry this out on their behalf
- have a robust means of monitoring their suppliers to ensure that ingredients themselves are cruelty free
- participate in ongoing, independent compliance audits
- provide documentation from their suppliers for verification
- recommit on a yearly basis – if companies don’t recommit, they are removed from Leaping Bunny’s rolling list of certified brands
Through their China Qualification Programme, Leaping Bunny allows cruelty free certification for some products that are sold in China providing they meet very strict criteria that does not involve animal testing of any kind.
There are two variations of their logo:
This one is used in the US and Canada.
This one is used in the UK and global markets.
PETA’s Global Beauty Without Bunnies
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is the world’s largest animal rights organisation. Although very similar to The Leaping Bunny programme, their Global Beauty Without Bunnies programme differs from The Leaping Bunny in that to apply, companies must complete a form and submit a statement of assurance that has been signed by their CEO. They are not required to provide further documentation to verify the cruelty free status of their suppliers. They are required to have these agreements in place, but they are not required to prove this. PETA does not conduct independent audits to determine compliance to their cruelty free standards.
Brands that sell their products in China, can maintain their Global Beauty Without Bunnies status providing they only sell “domestically manufactured (made in China), non-special use cosmetics” and do not introduce any products that would require animal testing. Should animal testing be required, they must withdraw their products rather than permit testing to go ahead. As an example, find out how Wet and Wild maintained their animal-test free status while selling products in China.
Companies can be certified as:
Animal-test free – they do not conduct or commission animal testing of any kind on either their finished products or their ingredients and will not do so in the future
Animal-test free and vegan – the product lines of these companies have not been tested on animals and do not contain any animal derived ingredients making them entirely cruelty free.
Due to labelling laws, PETA have these two additional logos for companies that sell their products in the EU.
Cruelty-Free Kitty
Cruelty-Free Kitty is an excellent online resource when it comes to determining whether a product is cruelty free. They contact brands directly to determine whether they meet their very strict criteria.
Their online search tool allows you to look up brands and find out which, if any, of their criteria they meet. They also include information about whether or not the brand’s parent company is also animal-testing free.
Founder, Suzanna Rose sends out a great newsletter that is worth signing up for.
A word of caution about cruelty free logos…
Some companies have created logos that include a bunny to replicate the ones above. This is in the hope of making consumers believe their products or ingredients haven’t been tested on animals, when in fact they have. Only the logos above are ones to trust.
At Animal-Kind, every single product is both vegan and cruelty free so you can shop in confidence knowing that you are buying products that are completely animal friendly. You can view our full range of products together or search by brand.
