What is Cruelty Free?

Vegan, natural, Cruelty Free, organic… can you find your way around? Labels abound on our products, and it is sometimes a little complicated not to confuse the names! We help you understand everything by looking today at Cruelty Free: what exactly does this designation mean, and how to recognize the products?

Vegan vs Cruelty Free: nothing to see!

Common mistake, we often confuse Vegan with Cruelty Free. While it's not quite the same!

Being vegan is a real ideology and a complete way of life. Vegans do not consume animal or animal products, and go further since they do not use them in their daily lives either. They therefore do not eat milk, eggs or honey for example, nor do they wear leather, fur, wool or silk… nor pearls, feathers or horn…

Of course, vegans are careful not to consume cosmetic products or medicines containing animal substances! The vegan rules are also to date the strictest among all the current movements.

Vegans can eat organic, or not… and use cosmetics, pharmaceuticals or cleaning products that have been tested on animals… if they contain no ingredients from animals. Vegans are therefore not necessarily Cruelty Free…

Cruelty Free means cruelty-free, but not automatically animal-free! Indeed, products labeled Cruelty Free may contain ingredients from animals. But these products – or the ingredients in them – have not been tested on animals.

For example, your favorite day cream may contain honey or your favorite soap donkey's milk, but they must not have been tested on animals to deserve the Cruelty Free label. You can be Cruelty Free without being vegan!

Except that… it would be too simple if we left it at that!

Is the Cruelty Free label really reliable?

Yes and no !

You will see by immersing yourself in the subject that it is difficult to find your way around and that you lose your Latin. Some brands, and in particular often the brands of large groups (how strange), have an annoying tendency to blurry communication... You can sometimes read on the packaging that the brand does not carry out tests on the finished products. Yes, but what about the ingredients that go into making this finished product? Keep your eyes peeled, and if nothing is indicated, it's probably because the brand isn't quite clean with the subject...

Beware of high-sounding, very marketing phrases that smoke up without really informing. To find out more, you can have fun reading all the mentions on the labels and on the websites of your favorite brands. Some brands say they do not test on animals "except when required by law"... It's usually written in small print...

Or simply make a phone call asking targeted questions that will require specific answers. It's a safe bet that the unclear marks on the subject will try to drown the fish...

What does the Cruelty Free law say?

The law is clear: since 2013, the sale of cosmetics tested on animals is prohibited in Europe. But at the time, this law did not apply to imported beauty products (European cosmetic regulation N° 1223/2009).

Good news, since 2016, cosmetic products tested on animals are now banned in all European Union markets.

But some brands are happy to lose us with names that mean nothing... Moreover, in France, the DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) reminds us that there is no should not rely on the claim "not tested on animals" because it is abusive and should not appear on any product. It recalls that “pursuant to Regulation No. 655/2013, claims relating to characteristics actually imposed by the regulations are prohibited. In fact, statements such as “not tested on animals, which lead consumers to think that other products placed on the European market are tested on animals, are prohibited” and considered a fraudulent commercial practice.

You should also know that this law is not so clear with the subject. It is in fact supplemented by the "REACH" regulations, the purpose of which is to determine the effects of chemical ingredients on health and the environment.

Clearly, the law obliges ingredients that are produced in excess of one ton to be tested on animals, in the event that the brand fails to fully prove their harmlessness through conventional animal-free tests, deemed unreliable.

And that is not the only reserve of this law, very unfortunately!

Products that were tested on animals before 2013 of course continue to be sold all over the world. And products and ingredients dependent on the agrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors are not affected by this law...

China and Cruelty Free

Our Chinese friends also require brands wishing to market their products on their territory to have their products tested on animals. So, if your cosmetic product is also sold in China, beware! Brands may argue that China is doing the testing and not them, but the fact remains that the products will be tested on animals regardless.

Fortunately, there are more and more brands that decide to boycott the Chinese market so as not to undergo this test obligation. They are identified by different labels “proving” their good ethics.

Note that in the spring of 2019, China gave the green light for testing cosmetics without using animals. Awareness or pressure from major cosmetic groups? The result, however, is positive. Two tests have been approved, a test to measure skin sensitization and a test to analyze the potential for eye irritation.

However, animal testing is still mandatory in China for all imported cosmetics and for all special-use cosmetics, regardless of where they are manufactured. It is therefore for the moment only a small step forward towards a real Cruelty Free policy in China.

What do all the labels mean? Can we really trust them?

They are pretty as anything, these labels, with their colors, the big heart ears of the little rabbit or the attractive flowers... But we don't know which one to follow and if they don't all overlap...

We offer you a short walk through the Cruelty Free labels! Here are the main labels, all of which are serious and which you can trust.

Peta Cruelty Free Label (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

• No animal testing
• No animal testing in foreign markets

With more, for the label Cruelty Free and vegan

• Absence of animal flesh
• Absence of ingredients of animal origin in the product AND in the packaging

But the products:

• Are not necessarily ingredients from vegan organic farming
• Have not necessarily undergone control audits

Label Cruelty Free International (Leaping Bunny)

• No animal testing (ingredients and finished products)
• None on animals in foreign markets
• Control audits (carried out by independent bodies)

But the products:

• May contain animal flesh
• May contain animal-derived ingredients in product or packaging
• Are not necessarily ingredients from vegan organic farming
• This label is valid for a brand, but not for the group that produces it.

Label Choose Cruelty Free

• No animal testing (ingredients and finished products)
• No animal testing in foreign markets
• For the brand as a whole

But the products:

• May contain animal flesh
• May contain animal-derived ingredients in product OR packaging
• Are not necessarily ingredients from vegan organic farming
• Have not automatically undergone control audits

Label Cruelty Free Cosmetics (IHTK)

• No animal testing (ingredients and finished products)
• No animal testing in foreign markets

But the products:

• May contain animal flesh
• May contain animal-derived ingredients in product or packaging
• May have been tested on animals in foreign markets
• Are not necessarily ingredients from vegan organic farming
• Have not automatically undergone control audits

Label One Voice (new)

• No animal testing
• No animal testing in foreign markets (tiger logo with T)
• Non-exploitation of monkeys for harvesting coconuts (tiger logo with C)
• Control audits

But the products:

• May contain animal flesh
• May contain animal-derived ingredients in product or packaging
• Are not necessarily ingredients from vegan organic farming

Label One Voice (old, but still found on market products)

• No animal testing (ingredients and finished products)
• No animal substances (for products stamped with the logo with the small V)
• Ingredients from organic farming (for orange logos)

But the products:

• May contain animal-derived ingredients in product or packaging
• May have undergone animal testing in foreign markets
• The label does not relate to the brand in its entirety

We have created our own label, the “Off” label, which brings together 6 selection criteria that we consider essential and have also established a selection charter and drawn up our blacklist of ingredients that you will never find in our products.