How to know if your products are truly cruelty-free. Can you trust the label?
It is important to make conscientious choices about the products we buy to maintain both our physical and mental health. Each purchase we make is a vote. Make sure that vote is in line with your self care goals and personal beliefs.
Unfortunately, this is a uniquely difficult endeavor, considering that the term “cruelty-free” is not defined or regulated by law. So the question then becomes, can we trust cruelty free seals published on logos? Which symbol is to be trusted?
Certified Cruelty Free
Due to the ambiguity in the legal definition of the term, each individual company can decide for themselves what it means to be “cruelty-free.” In the worst case scenarios, the term can imply:
that the product nor its ingredients have been tested on animals by that company, but the ingredients they use where tested on animals by other entities or suppliers
ingredients were tested on animals but the final product was not
ingredients or products were not tested by that company, in the US, but could have been tested by others in a foreign country where laws protecting animal rights are weaker
the final product or ingredients were tested on animals in the past, but are not currently being tested on animals
So, depending on the ethical nature of the company, these labels can have significant meaning, or none at all.
Is all hope lost? Not necessarily.
Doing some additional research on companies with one of the cruelty free logos can go a long way in determining if it is true. The CEO of Juice Beauty, for example, published a statement with The Humane Society, noting that “Juice Beauty abides by our EcoValues which include a strict no-animal-testing policy for all phases of product development [emphasis mine] and manufacturing of our products.
Juice Beauty stands for cruelty-free, highly effective, authentically organic skincare and makeup.” Companies that intentionally provide statements, reports, and other proof of their production process being cruelty free, helps prove their credibility to consumers.
Cruelty Free (PETA)
PETA’s cruelty-free label goes a bit farther than the previous cruelty free seal in ensuring products are really created without inflicting harm to animals. In order for a product to be certified cruelty free by PETA and adorn the logo, the company producing that product must:
This means that the company may still use ingredients that were tested on animals in the past, but agree not to personally test ingredients or final products on animals now or in the future, which is certainly a step in the right direction. Once companies complete these two simple steps they are free to use the cruelty-free bunny logo on product labels. So while PETA approved products may contain ingredients that have been tested on animals at one point in time, at least you are (hopefully) supporting companies that are true to their word, and to their labeling. To find companies that have signed a pledge to not test on animals, use PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies shopping guide.
complete a questionnaire
sign PETA’s statement of assurance that they do not currently conduct or allow animal testing on any ingredients, formulas, or finished products and pledge not to do so in the future.
pay a one-time $100 licensing fee
Recently, PETA developed a new logo for vegan products. Similar to PETA’s cruelty-free bunny logo, this PETA approved vegan logo can only be used by companies that sign PETA’s statement of assurance verifying that their product is vegan.
But do these companies actually stick to their cruelty-free vow? Unfortunately, PETA doesn’t do anything to make sure, stating only that “Companies are putting their integrity on the line when they respond to consumers. A company that has publicly announced an end to tests on animals and states in writing that it doesn’t test on animals would face a public relations disaster and potential lawsuits if it was caught lying.”
Leaping Bunny
The leaping bunny symbol is used by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC), a group of eight animal protection agencies in the US and Canada, and represents the most comprehensive standard for cruelty-free labeling. The Leaping Bunny program provides companies dedicated to being cruelty-free to voluntarily pledge to not test on animals during any stage of a products development.
In order to adorn the leaping bunny seal, the company’s suppliers must also make the same pledge, in order to guarantee the product is 100% free of animal testing, as of a fixed date. To enforce their pledge, on site assessments are done to ensure the validity of each companies pledge to maintain a manufacturing policy that is truly cruelty free. This is also the only true cruelty free symbol that is used internationally to represent the strictest standards against animal testing.
Next time you’re shopping, especially for cosmetics, make sure to check for the leaping bunny symbol to put your animal-loving conscious at ease. To make finding these Leaping Bunny certified products easier to find, download the Leaping Bunny App for a Compassionate Shopping Guide or go to their website.
In the end, the only way to make an effort towards buying products that have not been created at the expense of animals lives or well-being, is to buy products that have at least one or more of these cruelty free labels, with the Leaping Bunny logo being the clear winner in enforcing strict standards when it comes to animal testing.
Sources:
https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/Labeling/Claims/ucm2005202.htm
http://www.leapingbunny.org/
https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/leaping-bunny-program/
https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/cruelty-free-labeling/
https://www.peta.org/about-peta/how-is-a-company-certified-as-cruelty-free/
https://www.peta.org/living/beauty/beauty-without-bunnies/
https://www.peta.org/living/beauty/beauty-without-bunnies/submit-top-tips/beauty-without-bunnies-faq/
https://www.peta.org/living/fashion/peta-approved-vegan-logo/
https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/leaping-bunny-vs-peta/
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