Do you love your pets? Do you care about animals? Do you strongly advocate against animal cruelty? If so, how do you translate this affection into your product purchases? Did you know that some manufacturers use animals in testing whether your gummies, nutritional supplements, skincare and beauty products are effective?
These days, manufacturing companies have become more and more invested in their market research to improve their marketing strategy.1 While there are those that are focused on product development, some are more interested in studying how they can get the attention and urge consumers to buy their products. Hence, the attractive special offers and persistent sales promotion that are sometimes exaggerated.
For you not to easily fall into these marketing tricks, the best way that you can do is to do a run-through on the products that you have bought and check if these are certified to be cruelty-free. In this age of consumer manipulation, certifications really matter. Anyone can claim that their products are cruelty-free but without proof, these claims are nothing but meaningless statements.
Understanding Cruelty-free Logos
Like cosmetic brands, not all cruelty-free logos are created equal. Along with false claims, there are also a number of cruelty-free logos labeled on many products that are not affiliated with any official organizations. That’s why you have to be aware of these logos and their meanings.
Most often, cosmetic brands that campaign against animal cruelty have a ‘bunny’ logo which has been bestowed by PETA, Leaping Bunny, and Choose Cruelty-Free. This signifies that neither the product nor its manufacturing procedures have conducted or commissioned any tests on animals for the ingredients, formulation, or finished products.
However, these cruelty-free logos can be a little difficult to identify – much more that some manufacturers are adding fake and unofficial ‘bunny’ designs to their products that are not accredited by reputable cruelty-free organizations just to trick their purchasers into believing that their products support this movement. So, here we’ll thoroughly explain to you how different these cruelty-free logos are.
Leaping Bunny (Cruelty-Free International)
The Leaping Bunny logo is characterized by a bunny leaping in the air surrounded by stars. This is internationally recognized logo embodies the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (or CCIC) which comprises eight national animal protection groups that work together in the promotion of a comprehensive standard against animal cruelty. CCIC Leaping Bunny manages all US and Canada-based brands to make sure that no new animal tests were used in the development of the product by the company, its laboratories, or ingredients supplier.
Leaping Bunny is the most trusted cruelty-free certification for non-animal tested products. By achieving this certification, brands only show that they are genuinely committed to providing quality and cruelty-free products to their consumers.
Brands that have passed the Leaping Bunny certification can place the Leaping Bunny logo on their packaging, advertisement, and websites. Companies in the US and Canada can only use this logo after becoming certified by CCIC. This means that they have to make a pledge that as of the fixed cut-off date, they are no longer going to conduct or commission animal tests. These manufacturing companies will neither use ingredients nor formulations that are tested on animals nor distribute their product in foreign markets that require animal testing like in China.
CCIC Leaping Bunny also implements a strict Supplier Monitoring System that requires all companies to show and submit proof of document that their partner companies and suppliers comply with the Leaping Bunny standards.
PETA Beauty Without Bunnies
PETA’S Beauty Without Bunnies logo is branded with a whiskered bunny face with big heart-shaped pink ears. Products that display this logo are cruelty-free and are produced by companies that have a company-wide global ban on animal testing.
For manufacturers and companies to use PETA’s “Animal Test-Free” or the “PETA Approved Global Animal Test Policy” logo, all they have to do is complete a short questionnaire and sign PETA’s statement of assurance. They have to provide a statement that verifies that they are not going to conduct or commission animal testing on ingredients, formulations, or finished products. In addition to this, PETA also offers a vegan logo for vegan certification for brands that committed not only to ban animal tests but also to refuse any animal-driven ingredients (like honey, beeswax, or carmine) in their products.
However, compared to Leaping Bunny and Cruelty-Free International, PETA does not conduct any audits on these companies’ facilities nor would require regular audits to make sure that these companies comply with the criteria that the organization provided.
Choose Cruelty-Free (recently joined the Cruelty-Free International)
Australian non-profit organization’s Choose Cruelty-free logo is embodied by a black outline of a bunny with the label ‘NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS’ under it. This logo can only be used by brands accredited by CCF after they commit that none of their products and none of their product ingredients have ever been tested on animals, its suppliers, or by anyone on their behalf.
As of June 1, 2021, Choose Cruelty-Free Australia has joined Cruelty-Free International – which brings forward the organization to the global market. This means that all companies approved and licensed by CCF will now have the opportunity and support to transition and get the Leaping Bunny approval.
To earn the CCF logo, manufacturing companies and brands must meet the following criteria: (1) products and ingredients must not be tested on animals (even on third parties) at any stage of the product or ingredient development, (2) practice must be in place for at least 5 years before the company can apply for CCF accreditation. In case the company is younger than 5 years, it can still apply certification if its products and ingredients have never been tested on animals on animals by anyone or third parties, and (3) ingredients on the products used must not be derived from an animal killed specifically for the extraction of the ingredients, forcibly extracted from a live animal in a manner that can result to occasional pain or discomfort, derived from wildlife, nor a by-product of the fur industry. Most importantly, all parents and subsidiaries of the company must be certified to be cruelty-free. Hence, CCF also checks with suppliers and requires re-accreditation.
What Brands are Leaping Bunny Certified?
Now we see that not all cute bunny logos labeled on our beloved products mean the same thing – and that maybe some of those logos that we see are actually not related to any of the aforementioned cruelty-free accrediting organizations. Hopefully, this makes shopping for cruelty-free products easier.
If you are planning to start your own brand in Riverside or San Bernardino, California, and would want to connect with a manufacturing company that is Leaping Bunny certified, then you have come to the right page. The Omnium Group is strongly committed to providing quality and cruelty-free products. All of our products (vitamins, gummies, CBD products, cosmetics, treatments, and other health supplements) are vegan, gluten-free, and free of animal products or animal testing.
Do you want to develop your own cosmetics, gummies, or CBD product line? That’s amazing! Our team of experts would be happy to work with you to ensure that your brand would be of top quality and animal cruelty-free! Contact us here and allow us to help you put your dream products into realization – from formulation to design to packaging!
References:
1 Chan, Joei. Why and How Global Brands Like Facebook and Danone Invest in Market Research
2 PETA’s ‘Global Beauty Without Bunnies’ Program. https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/beauty-without-bunnies/
3 The Leaping Bunny Logo. https://www.leapingbunny.org/leaping-bunny-logo4 Choose Cruelty Free Australia joins Cruelty Free International family. https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/latest-news-and-updates/choose-cruelty-free-australia-joins-cruelty-free-international-family