Looking for cruelty-free products? We want all of our products to be cruelty-free too, but this label is deceiving consumers!
At the event âAboutTime you discovered the secrets of great skin: An evening with Dr. Anjali Mahtoâ that we wrote a review of here, Dr. Anjali Mahto gave her thoughts on the âcruelty-freeâ label, which we found to be very insightful and definitely made us think. The sad fact is, that t is currently VERY difficult to find a product that is truly âcruelty-free.â Why? Because in order for ingredients (note, we said ingredients, not products) to pass certain regulations, they at some point may have been tested on animals.
What is starting to grind our gears is that companies are playing to our desire to not have products that are animal tested, and are twisting things to make it seem like they are superior to other brands, when in fact they are doing the same thing! How? What happens is that many brands will use terms like âNo Animal Ingredientsâ, âNot Tested on Animalsâ or even âCruelty-Freeâ when in reality they are not using the proper definition of the terms. Their product may not have been tested on animals, but that does not mean that the source of their ingredients in the product has not been tested on animals. There are not yet legal definitions of these terms, which means that ANYONE can use them!
Most companies rely on raw material suppliers to perform animal testing necessary to make sure their product passes certain regulations safely. This means that although they may claim that they do not test on animals, they can contract someone else to do the work for them. Sneaky right?
So how to make sure that your product is cruelty-free? Look for a bunny logo, but not just ANY bunny logo (yes there are multiple), but the Leaping Bunny Logo. This is actually the only program that audits companies every 3 years by an independent assessor to make sure that they commit to the Leaping Bunny Standard. In fact, surprisingly the Choose Cruelty Free (CFF) program as well as PETAâs Beauty Without Bunnies Program verified program simply requires companies to complete a questionnaire and sign a statement to be part of the program.
For more skincare wisdom like this, check out our podcast The Skinterview. Each week, we interview a skincare expert on the topics that really matter, demystifying complex concepts, busting beauty myths and sharing honest reviews.
