I love beauty products and I love animals (I’m a proud cat mom of two) but I do not want beauty products and animals to have anything to do with the other!
When I mention “ethical” beauty on Green Vanity’s blog, I’m sure many of you have thought about ethical practices outside of sustainability and environmental concerns. There’s also the consideration for ethical practices concerning ingredients and product testing.
The beauty world is increasingly becoming cruelty-free and pushing to end animal testing.
Just last week, it was big news in beauty. Australia’s Senate passed a bill banning cosmetic animal testing after The Body Shop Australia and Cruelty-Free International launched a partnered campaign that garnered 8.3 million signatures to end cosmetic animal testing.
When the whole movement for clean beauty first started as a trend, no one could imagine that it would become close to a new industry standard. The desire for safer, cruelty-free, and natural products will only increase in demand as particularly Millennial and Gen Z consumers expect brands and products to meet those standards. Beyond a marketing tactic, brands are either meeting or setting their own company standards to deliver the quality products consumers want. But what exactly is cruelty-free, or even vegan makeup?
Well, let’s look at the difference between cruelty-free and vegan cosmetics. Cruelty-free means that the testing of products or ingredients has not at any point been used on animals. It’s important to keep the whole process in mind when assessing if a brand is cruelty-free, for they may not test the final product on animals, but the separate ingredients used may have been tested on animals by a third-party supplier.
The term vegan comes at no surprise to apply to more than just the food on our plates but to the products on our face. A vegan product does not contain any animal ingredient or animal-derived ingredient. There are plenty of common cosmetic ingredients that one would not immediately suspect to be non-vegan. For example, beeswax can be obviously not vegan. However, lanolin, used in many lip products as an emollient, is derived from sheep’s wool and would not be considered vegan as well.
Due to the difference in meaning, be aware that cruelty-free products are not always vegan, and vegan products are not always cruelty-free.
In fact, there’s such a thing as Halal beauty. Particularly popular in majority Muslim Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, beauty brands are looking to achieve Halal certification to appeal to their Muslim consumers. Traditionally meaning meat prepared in accordance with Muslim religious law, Halal cosmetics must be free of several animal components and be cruelty-free. This would naturally appeal to certain vegan and ethically concerned beauty consumers, making Halal beauty an excellent choice beyond the consumer’s religious background.
Resources
While you can find hundreds of product recommendations online, for anything from cruelty-free or vegan foundations and red lipsticks to deodorant, knowing what to look for can help when you’re browsing the beauty shelves on your own.
You can discover whether any brand is cruelty-free by checking if they’re Leaping Bunny certified.
Additionally, familiarize yourself with animal-derived common cosmetic ingredients and potentially seek out products that use vegan alternatives.
Do it for yourself and for our furry friends! Let me know in the comments your favorite cruelty-free brand.
Green Vanity 