How To Check If A Brand Is Actually Cruelty Free?

by Nandini S + India Sutra 28 Jul 2021

By using the term cruelty free, a brand implies that its products were not tested on animals at any stage of product development. But brands can exploit the “cruelty-free” label to their advantage and can still test on animals.

This year alone, a number of brands have changed their animal testing policies and labels but there is no uniform labeling system so it’s difficult to tell right away if a brand is cruelty-free. Sadly, Animal testing of cosmetics has been found in 80% of the countries worldwide. This stat is one of the most shocking and shameful, when we have the means to be 100% cruelty-free.

NOW YOU CAN BOP and check this information in an instant.

Zoobop is the world’s first brand checker, a platform that reads brands for you and gives it a clean or dirty score. One of its main features that it checks is if a brand is actually CF or not. All you do is type in your brand name (from anywhere in the world) and Bop.

For Zoobop, being cruelty free needs to be a strong brand commitment. We understand that not all brands can afford being accredited. But just putting a bunny logo at the back of a label is not good enough. A brand needs to have strong policies and needs to assure users that it does not adhere to testing on animals at any stage of sourcing, manufacturing or marketing.

What this means is that the brand is transparent with its supply chain to ensure that all its 3rd party suppliers & manufacturers have a strong ethos. They also commit not to sell in countries where testing is mandatory by Law.

Many brands unfortunately choose profit over ethos. They falsely claim to be CF and have no qualms in paying for animal testing of their products in Mainland China where testing prevails.. What does this tell you about the brand? L’oreal, Mac Cosmetics, Innisfree, L’occitane, Nivea, Revlon, Sephora, Kerastase, Kiehls, Olay, Lancome, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Neutrogena, Vichy, YSL, Maybelline, Johnson & Johnson, Axe, Gillete... and the list is shockingly large with some of the richest brands being at the helm.

Here are some ways to know if a brand is really cruelty-free:

1. BOP it

Zoobop has data of over 2500 brands worldwide. The platform not only tells you if the brand is cruelty free, but it also tells you if the brand tests on animals or even if it has vague testing policies. In India unfortunately accreditor labels are also falsely used. So many brands are inadvertently (or not) using the PETA and CCF logos without being actually accredited by them. At Zoobop false CF logos are checked as well.

2. Certified Accreditors

Look out for certifiers such as Leaping Bunny, Choose Cruelty Free and PETA. These certifications are expensive so not many brands can afford them. However, like any good accreditors many of these too validate a brands strong commitment to be CF.

However, there are many false claims and logos that are being used as well. So, it's always best to check with the accreditor to see if their logo being used is valid and has been earned.

3. Check if the brand perfectly follows these rules without any exceptions or ambiguity.

The brand does not test on animals
The supplier does not test on animals.
No party involved with the brand is also involved with testing on animals.
No testing even when the law in some cases demands them.
They should not be selling in Mainland China where it is mandatory to test products on animals before selling in the market.

4. Shop Responsibly

In order to avoid funding brands that support animal testing, you should always make your purchases from clean stores. The Zoo shop by zoobop.com is India’s first verified beauty marketplace with the cleanest brands available. All the brands here are free from dirty formulations and are committed CF.