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What Does Cruelty Free Mean?
Cruelty-free
can mean different things to different people and companies. In its strictest form,
cruelty-free means that in the making of a product no ingredient, finished
product or form of the product was tested on animals and that the company and
its suppliers do not test on animals. Some companies consider themselves
cruelty-free if the finished product is not tested on animals, but that is
likely to mean that ingredients in the finished product were tested on animals.
Or, if a supplier tests on animals but not the seller of the product the seller
considers themselves cruelty-free because someone else tested their product on
animals.
What is Animal Testing?
Animal
testing is just as the name implies—testing a product or
ingredient/compound/etc. on an animal. This can mean that products are put into
the animal’s eyes, stomach, etc. Symbols marking cruelty-free products are
often bunnies because a lot of animal testing is done on bunnies. Animal
testing in terms of cosmetics (from lipstick to shampoo) and cleaning products
is not required by U.S. law. It is required by law in China. So, when a company
wants to sell its products in China, it has to submit to animal testing. Most
major brands sell in China now, hence why they can no longer be considered
cruelty-free.
Who Determines What Makeup Is
Cruelty Free?
From my
research, it seems that there are two main organizations that deem products
cruelty-free: Leaping Bunny and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals). Participation in both programs in voluntary.
Leaping Bunny (http://leapingbunny.org/indexcus.php)
The Leaping
Bunny program is part of The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics.
It claims to be the only program that verifies a company’s cruelty-free status
based on standards and is international. The standards include: an application,
verification that no ingredients/products were tested on animals at any point
(including suppliers), independent audits and an annual renewal.
Some
companies are not Leaping Bunny certified because they are not cruelty-free or
do not intend to be, or may not be aware of the program and how it can help
them market their cruelty-free brand. Brands that have a logo depicting a
leaping bunny are certified. The fee to use the logo is on a sliding scale. You
can also search for Leaping Bunny certified companies on their website.
PETA’s
“Beauty Without Bunnies” program is less stringent than the Leaping Bunny
Standards. It requires that the company looking to be certified as
“cruelty-free” from PETA fill out a questionnaire and sign a statement saying
that they are cruelty-free. The fee to use PETA’s cruelty-free logo (a bunny
face with heart-shaped ears) is $100.
I should
note that just because a brand isn’t recognized by Leaping Bunny or PETA as
cruelty-free doesn’t mean the brand is not cruelty-free. These certification
programs are voluntary. A lot of brands have information on their website as to
the “level” of cruelty-free they are and a lot a bloggers have emailed
companies and asked specific questions in order to ascertain whether they brand
is cruelty-free.
Why I’m Making Changes
The simple
answer is: I like animals. After seeing “cruelty-free” come up over and over
again on makeup packaging and blogs/videos, I decided to investigate what
“cruelty-free” in regards to makeup actually means. As a lifelong vegetarian
and on-again off-again vegan, I’m upset at myself for not paying attention to
this issue earlier. However, it’s difficult to navigate the “cruelty-free”
world when most major brands in the stores are not cruelty free.
This is
going to be a gradual process for me and I know I can’t promise myself that I’ll never
use a product that isn’t cruelty-free. But change starts with awareness, and
small steps are better than no steps in my opinion. I’m going to try my best to
only purchase makeup that is cruelty-free going forward. Once I have that down,
I’m going to work on skin care and then cleaning products, etc. When I purchase
something new out of any category, I know that I will go into it with more
awareness and seek out cruelty-free products.
I’ll still be
doing normal product reviews, skin care routines, etc., I’ll just also include
whether or not the product is cruelty-free. I hope you’ll stick around for the journey and
learn with me along the way J And
maybe you’ll be inspired to make some changes too!
I’ll post
soon what brands are and are not cruelty-free (Leaping Bunny or PETA certified),
especially those that I’ve talked about on my blog and those that I will have
to give up in order to go cruelty-free.
Sources:
leapingbunny.org and peta.org
Disclaimer:
All products are purchased by me or my lovely husband unless otherwise noted in
the post. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. I do not provide positive
reviews for payment. Products that work for me may not necessarily work for
you. This post is not sponsored.
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