
How To Tell If A Brand Is Cruelty Free
Unfortunately, some brands like to make it very difficult for consumers to know if they are cruelty free or not. Every brand will try to tell you they are cruelty free because if they told you outright that they test on animals, they wouldn’t make any money!
WHAT DOES THE EU BAN MEAN?
on March 11th 2013 the EU put in place the “Ban on Animal Testing”. You will hear a lot of brands who, when asked about their animal testing policies, will simply reply with a link about the EU ban. Although this EU ban on the outside, seems fool-proof, it is not. The EU Ban on Animal Testing requires that cosmetics sold only within the EU must not be tested on animals.
LOOPHOLES
Unfortunately, along with the EU Ban comes a lot of loopholes. The ban means that the products themselves sold within the EU have not been tested on animals but it DOES NOT mean that the brands do not carry out animal testing. Despite the EU Ban, some brands still sell in countries that require animal testing, pay third parties to test their products or test their ingredients on animals. The EU Ban also only bans tests required for consumer safety, it does not consider tests for environmental damage or worker safety tests. This means that products sold in the EU may still have been subject to these types of animal testing.
HOW TO TELL IF A BRAND IS CRUELTY FREE
There are certain signs to look out for when reading a brands animal testing policy or reading the label on their products.
Do they mention “When required by law?”
When a brand says anything along the lines of “except when required by law” it means that they sell their products in a country (usually China) that requires animal testing. Brands will try to word this in a way that makes it sound like they are “working with (said country) to eliminate animal testing.” What they really mean is, they make a lot of money in that country therefore they won’t pull out. To put it frankly, these brands value money over the lives of innocent beings.
Do they mention anything about testing ingredients or hiring third parties?
Not every brand will say in their policy if third parties are hired to carry out animal testing or whether the ingredients are tested. If a brand’s policy mentions nothing of this then I recommend following it up with an email regarding these points.
Do they use language such as “against animal testing?”
This is another phrase often used by brands who want to look like they are cruelty free when in fact, they are not. Saying they are “against animal testing” means nothing, it certainly doesn’t mean they don’t carry out testing on animals.
Do you recognise the logo on their products?
Again, some brands like to make their own logos to put on their products that make it look like they are cruelty free. Cruelty Free Kitty has a wonderful post on spotting fake cruelty free logos that explains the process better than I can, so do check that out.
IF IN DOUBT, SEND AN EMAIL!
If you have any doubts about a brands cruelty free status then I suggest sending them an email, remember to ask the following:
Does insert brand name test their ingredients and/or finished product on animals?
Are your ingredients and/or finished products tested on animals through a third-party? If no, how do you ensure your manufacturers do not carry out animal testing?
Do your manufacturers carry out animal testing on the ingredients and/or finished product?
Are you owned by or affiliated with any companies that do carry out animal testing on their ingredients and/or finished products?
Do yourselves and/or your parent company currently, or have plans to, market and sell your products in the Chinese market which requires animal testing to be carried out?
CRUELTY FREE RESOURCES
Luckily for us there are some very lovely people who have worked hard to put together lists of cruelty free and not cruelty free brands. Personally I swear by the list on Logical Harmony but Cruelty Free Kitty also has a very trustworthy list so sometimes I like to compare the two. You can also look at PETA for information on cruelty free and vegan brands but note, they do not update their database as regularly as Logical Harmony or Cruelty Free Kitty.
Stay kind x



37 Comments
Sarah
Thank for a great post. I have a real problem with companies and trusting if they are really cruelty free. I have been looking for almost 6 months now if there are any ethical hair dye products in the UK. Love posts like this that help raise awareness.
theethicalevolution
Superdrug own brand hair dye and the colour freedom are cruelty free, you also have directions, artic fox and a few other similar ones!😊 x
Sarah
Thank you for your reply. I will look into Superdrug. I love their B. Makeup.
The Sunday Mode
A lot of this I was really unaware of I had no idea that fake cruelty free logos was a thing?
Julia // The Sunday Mode
Corinne & Kirsty 🌸 (@corinnekirsty)
Thanks for this post. I have been looking at switching to cruelty free brand lately but it is really hard to find one that actually is cruelty free. Like I have found out that a brand I love and that claim is natural and stuff, isn’t cruelty free. These will be really helpful in the future! thanks xx corinne
theethicalevolution
No worries! Glad I can help!x
Kayleigh Zara
Thankyou for sharing this! I recently have started to only buy cruelty free makeup and skincare so this is so useful x
theethicalevolution
Wonderful! Happy to have you on the journey!x
jennyinneverland
This is SO informative! Fantastic post and it’ll help a lot of people who want to start transitioning to cruelty free products <3
theethicalevolution
Thank you!x
Robyn
This was such a good read! I had never really thought about how to check for cruelty free- I will definitely be looking out for this in the future
Robyn // http://www.midnightandlace.co.uk
theethicalevolution
All about education 🌸😊
The Monday Project
This is a really interesting idea read, lots of useful information and really helpful thanks!
Kirsty | The Monday Project | themondayproject.co.uk
theethicalevolution
Thanks!x
Amina
This is so informative! I never considered brands would test on animals in one country but not in another and thats how they get away with it!
Amina xx | http://www.AliandHer.com
theethicalevolution
Yep, it’s a right sneaky process!x
Tiffany Rawling (@TiffanyRawling)
This is so so helpful! I always get so confused and never know which brands test on animals and which don’t! Thanks so much for sharing all of this 🙂
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
theethicalevolution
No worries! Hope it’s cleared a lot of things up for you x
RealNess
Thanks for raising awareness!
Antonia
Amazing post! I try to only use cruelty free products but sometimes it’s hard to know which one is free and which one isn’t This was very helpful. xo
https://
theethicalevolution
Glad you found it helpful x
Antonia
Amazing post! I’m always trying to use cruelty free products. Sometimes it’s hard to know which ones are free and which ones aren’t. This was very helpful. xo
Antonia || Sweet Passions
shannonsedit
This was so helpful, I will definitely save this post for future reference! Thank you!! xx
https://shannonsedit.co.uk/2017/05/07/lets-talk-about-dupes-baby/
theethicalevolution
Fabulous!x
Samantha
This post is so informative and you explain every expect very well! I didn’t know the majority of these things so thank you for sharing!
Now I’ll be looking if a brand tests on animals too
Samantha | https://samanthacarraro.wordpress.com
Savina
Hello! We are a definately-cruelty free, all-natural, all fresh (no stock at all-all products are handmade to order and there’s a waiting list for them) small skincare lab in the north of Greece . We will be glad to send you some sample to try us out!
Love & Light from Greece!
Girl Enters
Thank you so much for this post, I switched for cruelty free cosmetics a long time ago and hopefully this post will spread awareness x
theethicalevolution
Thank you! X
apathtovegan
This was such a great post! Really opened my eyes! Thanks so much for sharing, helped me a lot 🙂 x
theethicalevolution
Glad it helped 💕 x
Dominique
Thank you for this post! I’ve been ‘cruelty free’ for almost three years and I’m still gobsmacked how hard it is to find out whether a brand is cruelty free or not. This certainly helps!
Love,
Dominique
http://www.fashionedbypluche.blogspot.com
theethicalevolution
Glad to be of service!
Ashton _P
Very informative post. I enjoyed reading it
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Kimberley
This is a great post! You’ve explained everything so well. I’ve been using cruelty free makeup for almost a year now and I’m so glad I made the switch, although recently it came to my attention that Batiste have been quite misleading about their cruelty free stance. I’m still not sure if they are or aren’t because there’s so little information out there!
Kimberley
http://www.kimberleylane.co.uk
theethicalevolution
Yeah batiste aren’t cruelty free, they sell when required by law!
Kimberley Lane
Didn’t think so – thanks!