Despite the massive popularity of vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics, there is still some confusion about what vegan and cruelty-free mean regarding products and brands. Often they are still used interchangeably. Let’s try to explain the differences as simply as possible because there are differences.
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What is vegan?
Vegan beauty products are products that do not contain any ingredients of animal origin.
Any beauty product certified by Vegan.org excludes any components of animal origin, such as lanolin (wool wax) or shellac (female ladybug resin) in toiletries and makeup.
Here are some other ingredients of animal origin commonly found in cosmetics:
- Products derived from bees (honey, propolis, bee pollen, royal jelly)
- Carmine
- Animal proteins and vitamins
- Silk
- Pearl
- Snails (found in many Korean cosmetics)
- Milk
- Fish and other marine animals
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Logos of the vegan society
The Vegan Society is well established and takes many steps to ensure that a company’s products are 100% vegan.
First, experienced team members evaluate applications for potential ingredients of animal origin.
Second, The Vegan Society conducts audits to confirm that vegan ingredients are not contaminated with animal ingredients in manufacturing plants.
In addition, registrations must be renewed annually to ensure accurate and up-to-date information.
Vegan.org is a well-known vegan certification body.
Like The Vegan Society, Vegan.org certifies the individual products of various companies.
They also have an extensive application process to have products certified as vegan. They are rigorous in their application process: Products must not contain animal-origin ingredients, including items contaminated with cross-products. Vegan.org has gained the confidence to be a very reputable company.
Here are the authentic logos of the Vegan Society :
What is “cruelty-free”?
“A certified humane beauty product means that neither the product itself nor the ingredients have been tested on animals.”
This can be a little confusing, as many companies do not test the final product, but they do test some of the ingredients in the product.
Therefore, it is essential to seek accreditation from high-quality agencies and organizations, such as Peta or Cruelty-Free International’s Leaping Bunny logos.
These logos come from certified organizations. But be careful because some fakes look very similar!
Leaping Bunny is the only certified cruelty-free organization recognized internationally. For a company to be certified Leaping Bunny:
- it must commit to ensuring that all stages of product development are free of animal testing.
- Its suppliers must commit to ensuring that the ingredients are also cruelty-free.
- It agrees to submit to independent audits, and its commitments must be renewed annually.
The Leaping Bunny standard is applied throughout North America and the European Union. For example, Cruelty-Free International is one of 26 groups in the Leaping Bunny coalition. Cruelty-Free International is based in the UK but has direct links to Leaping Bunny and works internationally to end animal cruelty.
CHOOSE CRUELTY-FREE (CCF) is an independent non-profit organization based in Australia against animal testing. Companies seeking accreditation must sign a legally binding contract. To be accredited, none of the company’s products and ingredients must have been tested on animals. This includes products and ingredients supplied by its suppliers. The CCF also has a strict policy on ingredients of animal origin.
Even if companies are certified by Leaping Bunny, PETA, or CCF, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will put the humane rabbit logos on their packaging. Unfortunately, there is a license fee to use the logos, which not all companies can afford. However, these organizations serve an essential function.
According to Jane Iredale, “Certifications are necessary because anyone can claim to be humane, but without proof, it’s a meaningless statement.
PETA is perhaps the most widely used humane certification logo in the world. Unfortunately, PETA does not strictly enforce regulations to ensure a company is cruelty-free. There is only one step between a company claiming to be humane and PETA certification: a promise.
Beware of fake cruelty-free certification logos.
These companies are trying to deceive you into believing that they do not test on animals. If you are unsure, contact the company directly on their Facebook page.
Confusion can arise when you consider that a vegan product without animal ingredients can be tested on an animal!
In addition, some humane products may contain animal ingredients such as honey or beeswax.
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Conclusion
So, keeping this in mind, labels can be tricky.
The only way to be 100% sure that no animals have been harmed in making your beauty or cosmetic products is to make purchases from companies committed to being and declaring that they are BOTH vegan AND cruelty-free.
