4 Ways to Verify Your “Cruelty-Free and Vegan” Makeup in 2018
It’s 2018, and “cruelty-free” and “vegan” are still buzzwords. The cosmetics industry has undergone a revolution in the past few years, thanks to consumers pushing for products that truly live up to their labels. Market Research Future forecasts that the global cruelty-free cosmetics industry will grow by 6.1% annually until 2023. If you’re on the hunt for the best cruelty-free makeup and vegan-friendly makeup options on the market today, you’re in the right place. Use this list to fill your makeup bag with products you can be proud of in the new year.
1. Leaping Bunny Certified Makeup
Third-party certifications are the best way to ensure you get truly cruelty-free products from start to finish. One such party is Leaping Bunny. Leaping Bunny is the gold standard in cruelty-free products around the world. Their certification program is robust and detailed, with extensive checks to make sure a company and its items are truly cruelty-free, from beginning to end of production.
The best cruelty-free makeup will definitely feature the Leaping Bunny logo. If it doesn’t, you might want to investigate further. Odds are it does in fact test on animals or use ingredients tested on animals, despite saying it’s cruelty-free. This is because the Food and Drug Administration has yet to restrict the use of “cruelty-free” labels in cosmetics. Since there is no official definition of the phrase “cruelty-free,” cosmetic companies are free to slap this label on their items whether it’s true or not.
Lack of FDA regulations has led to many companies claiming cruelty-free without the proper certifications to support them. Always check for the Leaping Bunny logo before buying, as this is a surefire way to tell that the item is in fact 100% cruelty-free. There are over 600 companies that have taken the Leaping Bunny pledge against animal cruelty. Shop from one of these brands in 2018 to guarantee you get the best cruelty-free makeup available.
2. PETA-Approved Makeup
On your search for the absolute best cruelty-free and vegan-friendly makeup in 2018, you can’t miss PETA-approved options. PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is notoriously tough when it comes to approving cosmetics as animal-cruelty free. The PETA Beauty Without Bunnies program carefully vets cosmetic companies before adding them to its searchable database of cruelty-free and vegan makeup. The program has its own logo – a bunny head with pink heart-shaped ears. Look for this logo on your products to get PETA’s seal of approval.
3. Certified Vegan Makeup
Another third-party logo to look for is the Certified Vegan Logo. It’s a circle with a black heart inside, and a white V inside the black heart. It will say “Certified Vegan, Vegan.org.” Certified vegan makeup does not contain any animal products or byproducts, and they aren’t tested on animals. Not every vegan product will have this logo, but the list is growing quickly. If a product claims to be vegan but does not have the logo or some other form of vegan certification, go without.
4. Makeup That’s Cruelty-Free and Vegan
Cruelty-free and vegan are not one and the same. Cruelty-free means no animal testing or cruelty, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the product doesn’t contain animal byproducts. For example, a product with beeswax can say it’s cruelty-free, but it can’t say it’s vegan. At the same time, vegan can mean it doesn’t contain animal products, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t test on animals.
It is possible for makeup to be both cruelty-free and vegan at the same time. You simply have to do the research to make sure the item was not tested on animals and does not contain animal ingredients. Don’t forget to check for third-party certifications. Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be – an easy way to make sure you purchase the best cruelty-free makeup and vegan-friendly makeup is to find a brand you can trust and stick with it.
