The Layers of Cruelty Free

With so many companies honestly- and not so honestly- claiming to be cruelty free, I thought it would be helpful to talk about what cruelty free actually means. Or, rather, how people determine what a company’s cruelty free status is realistically. There are a lot of different ways that people define what cruelty free is, as “We do not test on animals” is often not a complete answer.

Many points exist along the line of the production and manufacturing process at which animals can be harmed. There are also a lot of points after the process that animals can come to harm as well. I wish, really and truly wish, that the phrase was more effectively regulated but it simply isn’t. And, frankly, a lot of brands use that to their advantage. So let’s talk about what makes up “cruelty free” status.

Does the brand test on animals?

This means, simply, does the brand itself test on animals in their home country? Generally, the answer to this is no. Most countries don’t require animal testing, and many have banned it. This is how most brands get away with saying they’re cruelty free. MAC, for example, doesn’t test in the United States and if an American asks, they can say, “No we don’t test on animals”. They aren’t doing it in the US, so they can say they don’t.

There’s always a caveat, though.

Do they sell in mainland China?

And this is where it starts getting hard for companies to claim they aren’t cruelty free. Mainland China requires animal testing for all cosmetic products. Now, there are ways around it that many fully cruelty free companies have managed to use, which involves selling online. But, if the company wishes to sell in mainland China, the finished product is required to be tested on animals.

This test can be conducted by the company itself, or more often it is conducted on their behalf- meaning, they pay for it to be done. And this is the other big way a company tries to say they are cruelty free. They claim that yes, it’s required but no, they aren’t the ones conducting the testing. Unfortunately, at some point, they have paid for that test to be conducted, which means they are directly responsible for the tests.  While many who shop cruelty free take their requirements further, this is the absolute baseline requirement for a brand to be considered cruelty free.

This is where some people are concerned about their status  dove has stated they will be pursuing alternative routes to sell in the Chinese market and will not allow others to test on their behalf. Time will tell how this holds up, as they state they stopped importing products as of last December into China. Any future releases will apparently be sold through other means.

Does the parent company test on animals?

Here’s the part that there is variation in the cruelty free zone of the world. Many companies are only subsidiaries, and are owned by a parent company. This is the case with Estee Lauder, which is a parent company of brands such as Smashbox.

It’s often the case that the parent company, which is its own brand, will sell in mainland China where animal testing is required. However, brands they own, such as Smashbox, will not be sold in mainland China and are able to state that they themselves are cruelty free.

Some choose to support the subsidiaries, others choose to boycott the whole “family” as it were. This is a nuanced debate and it’s hard to tell where the right and wrong answers are. Everyone will have a different answer, so this is where personal opinions and the execution of those beliefs become more variable. It’s even possible to take this differentiation even further, which I’ll get to in a sec.

Are their ingredients tested on animals?

While the final product may not be tested on animals, depending on their production process, the individual ingredients may be tested on animals currently. This is a little harder to get information on, and it’s harder to make an informed decision. Ideally, companies will have information on this, or they’ll be able to direct you to who does.

Particularly with “synthetic” ingredients, it is likely that at some point in history the ingredients have been tested on animals. But the question is of recency, at that point. They may have been tested on animals a couple decades ago, or the newer ingredients may have been tested on animals in the last five years.

Do their suppliers test on animals?

Something else to consider is whether or not a company’s supplier tests on animals, which ties in with the ingredient testing. Depending on how companies source their materials, a supplier may test the parts of the product that they provide. Again, this is somewhat harder to get information on, and the company may not have that information at all (or, at the very least, say they don’t).

There are so many points at which animal testing can occur, and due to the lack of legislation- particularly in the U.S.- it can be hard to make a fully informed determination.

It can be so very complicated to make a full determination, and often individuals have to contact the companies directly to get answers. Hopefully, this guide will help make it easier to know which questions to ask and how to move forward.