Is the Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free Logo Reliable?

Vegan Rabbit considers Leaping Bunny a highly reliable indication of proof of a brand’s cruelty-free status. Their bunny logo scores major points for their surprise audits and for being the only internationally recognized cruelty-free certification program in the world.

Background

The Leaping Bunny logo is awarded internationally by Cruelty-Free International, a non-profit 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), a non-profit which was created in 1996 and made of these 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

Strengths

The Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification is considered the global gold standard for cosmetics, personal care products, and home cleaning products. To qualify, companies must prove they’re doing what they promised by agreeing to allow CCIC / Cruelty-Free International to randomly investigate their entire supply chain without warning.

What’s it like to be audited by Leaping Bunny?

“As a brand owner of a Leaping Bunny (and PETA) certified cruelty-free cosmetic company, I can tell you from experience that Leaping Bunny is very thorough. They randomly audit their certified companies. We were the lucky recipient of a surprise audit a few years ago and they looked through our entire supply chain all the way back to each raw material we purchased for years for each product to confirm that we were indeed sourcing 100% cruelty-free at every stage in the life cycle of the product. Of course we passed with flying colors and the audit only made me respect the Leaping Bunny seal more because I have experienced their dedication to ensuring their certified brands are walking the talk.” — Kristin Adams, owner of Afterglow Cosmetics (which, despite being a Leaping Bunny certified brand, unfortunately isn’t currently 100% vegan and didn’t make the cut for my very strict list of cruelty-free & vegan companies)

Weaknesses

Leaping Bunny does have one blindspot: the “drugs” category. This can mean anything from medication to dietary supplements.

“We are a cruelty-free certification program for cosmetics, but ALSO […] personal care products and household products. We do not certify supplements or medicines because the FDA mandates testing on many of those products.” — Kim Paschen, Leaping Bunny Program

This means that Leaping Bunny only certifies certain types of products as cruelty-free. Specifically, the proof they demand of companies to make sure each company doesn’t test on animals only applies to cosmetics, personal care products, and household products — not drugs.

This is important because some dietary supplements are in fact tested on animals, which means it’s possible for a Leaping Bunny logo to be awarded to a company that tests on animals.

BUT! It’s important to note that not all supplements are tested on animals and there are many companies that offer cruelty-free dietary supplements.

To save you the time of contacting each and every company asking whether their drugs or formula ingredients were tested on animals, I’ve already compiled a list that weeds out any Leaping Bunny companies that test. Every brand you see on my list of cruelty-free brands that sells dietary supplements or other drugs does NOT test on animals and does NOT work with suppliers that test on animals.

Other Areas of Concern

Brands that are included in the Leaping Bunny program may sell products that contain animal ingredients or be owned by parent companies that test on animals for their other brands.

Furthermore, even if companies are certified by Leaping Bunny, that doesn’t mean you’ll see the Leaping Bunny logo displayed on their packaging. Unfortunately, there is a licensing fee to use the logo, which not all companies can afford.

This is why I maintain my own cruelty-free & vegan list which includes brands with and without logo-licensing and only lists brands that are 100% vegan and 100% cruelty-free at every level, from parent company to subsidiary to ingredient manufacturer.

Find out how Leaping Bunny compares to other cruelty-free logos.