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Most people who read this blog, follow me on instagram or know me personally will know that I use cruelty free beauty items only. I have been on the journey since the beginning of 2018 and it has definitely been a learning curve- there is so much I didn't know!
I am often asked questions about this by members of Boxession, where I also blog, and so I decided to put the most commonly asked questions in one place and try and clear a few things up!
I'll start with the simple question of what cruelty free actually is, and what animal testing means.
Animal Testing
Animal testing, in basic terms, refers to any scientific test where a live animal is forced to undergo a procedure that is most likely going to cause them pain, suffering or harm. This can range from testing out new medications or treatments for illnesses right down to shampoo, mascara and household cleaners. In the UK, as well as many other countries worldwide, animal testing is regulated by the government and is banned in the case of beauty products. Not all countries have these regulations or bans in place, however- despite the fact that only 25 new medicines are approved each year and 90% of drugs fail in human trials despite promising results in animal tests- but hey, tell that to the 115 million animals used in these experiments!
So what are the alternatives?
There are a number of them! For a start, Computer Models can be used to carry out virtual experiments on certain parts of the human body such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, digestive and musculoskeletal systems. The use of Cell Cultures has been essential in developments across areas such as cancer, sepsis, kidney disease and HIV. They are also used in testing the safety of chemicals, producing vaccinations and developing new drugs. Using Human Tissues that have been donated by both healthy and diseased individuals can also provide more relevant ways of studying various diseases. So why does testing still happen?
Animal research is a multi-million pound industry and there are many people with vested interests in keeping it going. Sadly, a lot of those key decision makers that could put a stop to it are resistant to change, preferring to keep to traditional practices and methods. There is also a huge lack of funding that goes into developing and improving the alternatives mentioned above, or from coming up with more. As an example of this, less that 0.04% of the UK scientific research budget goes into this area (despite animal testing being banned in cosmetics in the UK, it is still used in other areas, such as medicine development and disease study).
Ok, in that case, what is cruelty free?
Essentially, cruelty free cosmetics mean that no testing has taken place on any ingredient in the entire process of producing the item, be that an individual ingredient, or the product as a whole post production. This should be easy to distinguish then, right? Not necessarily.
Vegan vs Cruelty Free
One of the things that crops up quite a lot is 'if it's vegan, it must be cruelty free too, right?'.
In a lot of cases, this could well be true, however the 2 are not interchangeable. Vegan simply means that there are no animal derived ingredients that have been used in the product, such as gelatin, beeswax or honey. However, it does not, as a term on it's own, guarantee that the ingredients have not been tested on animals. If an item is vegan, there will be a symbol that looks like this on the back of the item. If an item is cruelty free, you will see one of these symbols. The Leaping Bunny is the symbol of Cruelty Free International and is the symbol on the left of the image, The one in the middle may also be on items from America, as this is PETA's symbol for cruelty free (however, I have learned that PETA are not all they seem either, but that is perhaps for another time!). The one on the right may be seen on items from Australia, it is their Choose Cruelty Free logo. So if you see any, or a combination of, those 3 symbols, you know it is cruelty free. If an item has both the vegan symbol and one or more of the cruelty free symbols, then you can be rest assured it is both vegan and cruelty free. It is important to note that cruelty free items are not necessarily vegan as they may contain things such as beeswax, which is animal derived.
I hope this is making sense so far!
China and Cruelty free
I also get asked a lot about the confusion around China's animal testing stance. Essentially, if a product is SOLD in china, then some animal testing will have had to take place as per China's regulations. This is not necessarily the case for items MADE in China however- nor is it the case if an item is purchased online and delivered to China. The law is around physical products in a physical store. So any company that sells physical products in stores in China can not be classed as cruelty free, as they or a third party acting on their behalf will have had to partake in some form of animal testing to be allowed to sell there.
In short, according to the Human Society, the law is as follows:
1. Any items imported for sale in a physical store must undergo testing.
2. Cosmetics that are produced in China for sale elsewhere in the world do not need to be tested.
3. Special use cosmetics produced abroad and in China must be tested.
4. Items produced in China, for sale in China are no longer required to test but some still do.
5. Cosmetics bought in China from elsewhere in the world do not have to be tested.
So if a someone in China purchased an item from a brand such as BH Cosmetics, who have the Leaping Bunny, the brand are still cruelty free as they don't have to test their product at any stage.
Incredible news though, is that China plans to end mandatory pre market testing for foreign imported cosmetics by the end of 2021, but animal testing could still occur as part of post market testing, or for special use cosmetics (toothpaste, suncream and hair dye for example). So while this is a huge, positive step, there is still a way to go before China can say it is totally cruelty free and therefore, some brands will still not be able to call themselves cruelty free either.
Non Cruelty Free Parent Companies.
There are a few brands out there who are cruelty free, but who have 'parent companies' (parent companies basically means they own that brand) who are not cruelty free. This leaves some people in a bit of a conundrum, as they feel that by supporting these brands, they are inadvertently supporting their non cruelty free parent company. So for example, BECCA cosmetics, whilst they are cruelty free themselves, are owned by Estee Lauder, who most definitely are not cruelty free. I guess in this instance, it comes down to each individual persons morals and preferences. Some people will only ever use brands who are not owned by a non-cruelty free parent company, where others are more relaxed about it as they know that the brand themselves haven't tested on animals. There are some brands who have the Leaping Bunny Certification
and are owned by a company that are not cruelty free, or at least, aren't certified by Cruelty Free International (the creators of the Leaping Bunny). There is a full list of companies on the leaping bunny website, which I have linked above.
How do we truly know something is 100% Cruelty Free?
This can be confusing, as there are a lot of brands out there that are cruelty free, in that they don't sell in china or test on animals during any stage of production (nor do they commission a third party to do it for them), but they are not certified, which means they don't have the Leaping Bunny. The only way to know for absolute certainty is to look for the Leaping Bunny symbol on the packaging, as you can be certain that they have paid a pretty penny and gone through various stages and processes in order to get their certification. So if you are concerned at a brand who say they are cruelty free but don't have the symbol, your best bet is not to buy. However, many brands simply don't have the money to pursue a certification, or not be able to for other reasons. It is a grey area, however I have included a link to a list of brands who are cruelty free, as well as their certification status. The person who compiled the list went to the trouble of contacting each brand individually to ask about their cruelty free status.
Are there any brands that people label as cruelty free, but would be surprised to find out they aren't?
I have been asked this a lot and it's a difficult one to answer. I have seen people label Benefit as cruelty free before (they aren't), NARS (they aren't) and Batiste (they aren't). Many people have also mistaken Caudalie for being cruelty free (they aren't) as well as brands that come across as more 'natural', such as Aveeno and Crabtree and Evelyn. I have included a link to a list of companies who still currently test on animals. This is updated regularly I believe.
What countries still allow or require animal testing?
Aside from China, places like Russia, Argentina, Vietnam and Thailand have not yet banned animal testing on cosmetics. There are bans being considered in Brazil, the US and Canada.
Australia, South Korea and Taiwan are currently in transition from allowing it to banning it.
It is already banned in all countries that are part of the EU, as well as Norway, Iceland, Serbia, Israel, India, Switzerland, New Zealand, Turkey, Guatemala, San Marino, The UK and Liechtenstein.
I hope this has been interesting/helpful for you and I would love to know your thoughts- feel free to contact me via the links on the blog if you have any questions or queries and I hope this makes your transition to Cruelty Free easier!
