If you’ve ever been out shopping for beauty, hygiene, or household cleaning products, you’ve probably seen a variety of cute bunny logos on labels claiming that a product is “cruelty-free” or “not tested on animals.”
You might be surprised to learn that there are currently only 3 cruelty-free logos run by independent non-profits: Leaping Bunny, PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies, and Choose Cruelty-Free — and they are not all created equal.
It’s important to know exactly what each of these logos mean when they claim a product is “cruelty-free.” Do the non-profits running the certification programs that award these logos require that ingredients aren’t tested on animals or are they only concerned with finished products? Do they require a brand’s parent company be totally cruelty-free too? Do they allow companies into their program that sell products in China where animal testing is often required by law?
This list takes these questions into consideration and ranks each of these cruelty-free programs from best to worst.
Please note that all 3 of these certification programs are legitimate and trustworthy–none of them are “bad.” They all function with the goal of ending animal testing for consumer products and seek to be as transparent as possible. The difference between these 3 companies is the criteria they use to qualify companies for their programs and how reliable they each are in guaranteeing a company sticks to those criteria.
#1: Leaping Bunny
Vegan Rabbit considers Leaping Bunny a highly reliable indication of proof of a brand’s cruelty-free status. They scored major points for their surprise company audits and for being the only internationally recognized cruelty-free certification program in the world.
The Leaping Bunny logo is awarded internationally by Cruelty-Free International, which was originally founded in 1898 as The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) but later became Cruelty-Free International when they merged with the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS).
In the United States and Cananda, the Leaping Bunny logo is awarded by The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC), which was created in 1996 and made of 8 national animal rights organizations.
(Leaping Bunny-approved brands are held to the same high standard regardless which branch they receive cruelty-free certification from.)
Leaping Bunny requires:
- Adherence to a fixed animal testing cut-off date
- No selling products anywhere with laws requiring animal testing for finished products (ie: mainland China)
- A supplier monitoring system to be implemented by the brand
- Checks for animal testing down to ingredient manufacturer level of the supply chain
- Regular independent audits to ensure compliance
The biggest reason Leaping Bunny is in the #1 position on this list is because they are the only cruelty-free certification program that conducts their own independent audits of the companies in their program so they can make sure each company is doing exactly what they promised.
More information on the Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification program, including its strengths and weaknesses, can be found in my detailed explanation of the program: Is the Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free Logo Reliable?
#2: Choose Cruelty-Free
Vegan Rabbit considers Choose Cruelty-Free a fairly reliable indication of proof of a brand’s cruelty-free status. They get points off because they don’t conduct audits on the companies they certify, which means they can’t actually verify if a company is compliant. They do, however, maintain the strictest requirements of all cruelty-free certification programs.
Choose Cruelty-Free, a non-profit which was founded in 1993 and based in Australia, awards the Not Tested on Animals rabbit logo to companies that meet its strict set of criteria.
Choose Cruelty-Free requires:
- No testing on animals for at least 5 years prior to applying for certification
- A signed legally-binding contract not to conduct or commission any animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products
- No selling products anywhere with laws requiring animal testing for finished products (ie: mainland China)
- Adherence to a strict policy on animal-derived ingredients:
- NO ingredients derived from an animal killed specifically for the extraction of that ingredient
- NO ingredients forcibly extracted from a live animal in a manner that occasioned pain or discomfort
- NO ingredients derived from any wildlife
- NO ingredients that are by-products of the fur industry
- NO ingredients that are slaughterhouse by-products of a commercially significant value (meaning the animal was not killed specifically for the ingredient, but that the ingredient was available due to the animal being killed for other purposes)
- Parent company and fellow subsidiary brands must also qualify for the program
No other cruelty-free certification program makes such black and white distinctions about animal-derived ingredients or the cruelty-free status of parent company, so this is a big deal.
Unfortunately, there’s no way for Choose Cruelty-Free to make sure their rules are being followed since they don’t audit companies themselves and instead just trust companies to adhere to their legally-binding contract. If they did their own independent audits of companies, they would have made the #1 spot.
More information on the Choose Cruelty-Free certification program, including its strengths and weaknesses, can be found in my detailed explanation of the program: Is the Choose Cruelty-Free Logo Reliable?
#3: PETA Beauty Without Bunnies
Vegan Rabbit considers PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies a fairly reliable indication of proof of a brand’s cruelty-free status. They get points off because they have the least strict requirements of all 3 cruelty-free programs: companies only need to sign a pledge rather than sign a legally-binding contract or agree to random audits of their entire supply chain.
The Beauty Without Bunnies logo is awarded by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), which was founded in 1980, though the Beauty Without Bunnies program was created more recently.
Beauty Without Bunnies has two logos (one old, one new) and both are equally valid.
PETA requires:
- Adherence to a fixed animal testing cut-off date
- Pledge in writing not to conduct or commission any animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products
- No selling products anywhere with laws requiring animal testing for finished products (ie: mainland China)
More information on the PETA Beauty Without Bunnies cruelty-free certification program, including its strengths and weaknesses, can be found in my detailed explanation of the program: Is the PETA Beauty Without Bunnies Logo Reliable?
Note: In 2013 the European Union (EU) banned animal testing for all cosmetics, personal care, and household care finished products and ingredients, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean those products are automatically cruelty-free.
For example, household products (as opposed to cosmetics) are not affected by the ban, so there’s no guarantee that a product from the EU is cruelty-free. Check my list of cruelty-free and vegan brands often, as I update it very regularly.
I maintain my own cruelty-free & vegan list which only lists brands that are 100% vegan and 100% cruelty-free at every level.