Neither "cruelty-free" nor "vegan" has a legal definition in most markets. A brand can print either on a box with nothing behind it. Here is how to check in about two minutes.
They are different claims
Cruelty-free is about testing — no animal testing of the finished product or its ingredients, by the brand, its suppliers, or a third party acting for it.
Vegan is about ingredients — nothing animal-derived.
A product can easily be one without the other. Beeswax lip balm from a brand that never tests is cruelty-free and not vegan. A synthetic serum from a brand selling into a market that mandates testing is vegan and not cruelty-free.
The four questions that decide it
- Does the claim cover ingredients, or only the finished product? A brand can truthfully say it does not test the finished product while buying ingredients its suppliers tested.
- Does it cover third parties? "We do not test" leaves room for "but our distributor does, where required".
- Where does it sell? Some markets have required animal testing for certain imported cosmetics. Selling there has historically meant funding testing regardless of the brand's own policy.
- Is it certified, or self-declared? A rabbit drawing a brand made itself guarantees nothing.
The three certifications worth recognising
- Leaping Bunny — the strictest. Requires supplier monitoring, independent audits, and a fixed cut-off date after which no animal testing occurred anywhere in the supply chain.
- PETA Beauty Without Bunnies — widely used, easy to search, based on a signed company statement rather than an audit. Weaker than Leaping Bunny, far better than nothing.
- Choose Cruelty Free — Australian, strict, less common internationally.
Both Leaping Bunny and PETA maintain free public databases. Searching one takes about thirty seconds.
The parent-company question
A certified cruelty-free brand can be owned by a parent that tests. That does not invalidate the brand's own certification — but if your objection is to funding animal testing at all, ownership is information you may want.
This is where a lot of well-known brands sit. Several of the most widely recommended pharmacy skincare brands are owned by groups that test, and are not themselves cruelty-free.
Ingredients that make a product non-vegan
Squalane is the one worth knowing about. It was historically shark-derived; the industry has largely moved to olive and sugarcane sources, and the two are chemically identical. The INCI name does not distinguish them, so only the brand can tell you.
How we handle this
We set a cruelty-free or vegan flag only when the claim traces to a certifying body or an explicit brand statement. Where a brand only uses the words in marketing, we leave the flag unset — which shows as "not stated" rather than as a "no".
That distinction matters. Missing evidence is not the same claim as a denial, and publishing a red cross against a brand we simply could not verify would be an accusation we cannot support.
Frequently asked
Yes. Vegan describes ingredients; cruelty-free describes testing. A product with no animal-derived ingredients can still be made by a brand whose suppliers test, or sold in a market that mandates testing.
Leaping Bunny. It requires supplier monitoring, independent audits and a fixed cut-off date covering the entire supply chain. PETA's programme relies on a signed company statement, which is weaker but still far better than an uncertified logo.
It depends on your reason for caring. A certified brand's own practices are unaffected by its parent. But if your objection is to funding animal testing anywhere, a parent company that tests is relevant information.
