Cruelty Free and Vegan Labels

Cruelty Free and Vegan Labels:

There is a common misconception that cruelty free and vegan are one and the same. However, there is a meaningful difference.

While cruelty-free products focus on ethical testing practices, vegan products emphasize the formulation of ingredients to avoid animal exploitation and all animal testing practices.

When looking at product labels, consider their differences below to help you when reading labels and considering your purchases.

Cruelty Free:
Cruelty-free products have not been tested on animals at any stage of the product development and manufacturing process, ensuring no animal suffering is involved. Refer to the Note below.

Vegan:
Vegan products contain no animal-derived ingredients or by-products, that every component is plant-based or synthetic, and no animal testing has been conducted at any stage of the product development and manufacturing process.

Note:
The laws in the US, Europe, and other countries vary significantly when it comes to labeling, with varying requirements. The majority of countries require that major food groups be listed on food labels, including milk, eggs, soy, wheat, peanuts, treenuts, fish, and shellfish. However, avoiding accidental ingestion and anaphylaxis is ultimately the responsibility of the individual to educate oneself on the labeling laws.

When it comes to products saying they are Cruelty Free, the guidelines are less stringent in the US. It's more difficult to know if testing was done at the individual ingredient level or outsourced for testing. Companies may still say their products are Cruelty Free.

Read the labels carefully. If the products are Leaping Bunny certified, with the proper bunny logo, the companies will have passed a certification process to permit them to use the designation of Leaping Bunny certified. However, the products could still contain animal-derived ingredients or by-products, so reading labels is always crucial.

A Few Examples:
Ingredients such as Gelatin and Glycerin typically do not specify if they are plant-based, although it's becoming more common to see the word Vegetable in front of them when plant derived. If unsure, leverage search engines when shopping products, checking ingredients by their name to avoid any confusion.

Case in point, carrageenan may be unfamiliar, but it comes from red seaweed and it's plant-based. Whereas rooster comb is an animal-derived ingredient commonly used in a variety of beauty products, such as many hyaluronic acids. The label might say comb extract or coxcomb, others don't even specify it, which is why the vegan label is most helpful to provide the assurance of no animal ingredients in the product.

Refer to the Resources page and FAQ's & Myths for additional details.