Can you say that you are 100% sure that all the products you use daily are cruelty-free? I’m sorry to break it to you but if you haven’t been paying much attention to make sure your products are indeed cruelty-free…chances are that some (or most) of them are NOT.
In this guide, we will help you to first understand what cruelty-free means and why it’s important, then how you can make sure the products you purchase are indeed cruelty-free.
Are you looking to make more conscious purchases this year? This one is for you!
Cruelty-free means the products have NOT been tested on animals before putting them on the shelves.
The act of using other living beings to test products is cruel, extremely harmful, and can be deadly for the animals.
It is a practice we need to actively ban and regulate and as a consumer you have the right and obligation to say no to these practices. By favoring cruelty-free products, we are changing the norms and making companies accountable for their acts.
Remember each individual has great buying power and can make a difference.
5 tips to shop cruelty-free:
Even though we hope that we will get to a point where cruelty-free products are the mainstream norm, as of now it still isn’t. If you don’t see anything about the brand and the products that talk about the fact it is cruelty-free, do not assume it is.
What happens behind closed doors can be really shocking and unfortunately companies and labs have been hiding a lot of their practices to the consumers. What we don’t know doesn’t hurt us right? Let’s remember that if being unaware of the gravity of the situation can make our lives easier it doesn’t mean these practices do not exist.
If after researching the product or company you still can’t find any information about animal testing, you can go ask directly the company. Be careful about the response you are getting. Make sure to get a detailed answer with additional proofs.
For a product to be cruelty-free, the entire chain of production needs to be as well. This means that if the company you want to buy from is contracting a third-party company to provide one of the ingredients, that third-party company also needs to be cruelty-free. Companies need to be held responsible for the companies they work with and cannot hide anymore behind a “we didn’t know” statement.
We associate vegan with animal welfare but technically it is not what it means. A vegan product only means that the product does not contain any animal products or ingredients. A product might not have any animal products but still, be tested on animals.
And on the other hand, a product can be cruelty-free and not vegan.
The differentiation is important to make because companies could trick you into believing that because they are “vegan” or “eco-friendly” that means they are 100% good. The choice of words is important.
The best way to ensure your products are cruelty-free is to look for certifications and labels specialized in that area.
These independent certifications have as goals to provide clear information to the consumers. They are trustwothy and are not biased.
The Leaping Bunny certification is an international organization certifying cruelty-free brands. It ensures no animal testing has been practiced at ALL stages of the production. They perform independent audits to make sure the companies are held accountable. It is a popular certification for beauty and household products. For more information, visit: Leaping Bunny: Homepage
The PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies and cruelty-free certification is a pledge companies have to sign to not only ban animal tests but also ban the usage of any anima-derived ingredients. Unfortunately PETA does not conduct audits and relies on trust from the companies. For more information, visit: PETA: Homepage
Choose Cruelty Free (CCF) is an Australian organization fighting against animal testing. To be accredited by CCF, companies sign a legal contract forbidding them and any third-party companies they work with to do any animal testing on their products. For more information, visit Choose Cruelty Free
Are you looking for other certifications to help you shop consciously? Read our list of sustainable certifications to look for.
Since they are different aspects to look for when shopping cruelty-free and it isn’t always easy to find the information, one way to make this process super easy is by downloading the Bunny Free app made by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Using Bunny Free helps you search if a company is cruelty-free or not and find the entire list of cruelty-free companies made by PETA.
We are releasing our new collection of NATURAL | VEGAN | CRUELTY-FREE soaps called Sasya by SellSage. Our soaps are certified cruelty-free and vegan by the Leaping Bunny & Beauty Without Bunnies – Animal Test-Free by PETA. Stay tuned to discover our entire collection.
We hope this guide helps you better understand the importance of shopping cruelty-free and how to do it from now on.
Thank you for your effort to make this Earth a more ethical place for all of us, animals included!
