Cruelty-Free Cosmetics: The Truth About Animal Testing and 5 Common Questions

What is cruelty-free?

"Cruelty" comes from the English word "Cruelty," which means "brutal acts." "Free" means "free from (it)." In other words, cruelty-free means that no cruel acts are committed.

In cosmetics, it refers to cruelty to animals and means "not tested on animals."

Why animal testing is bad

According to the American animal protection organization PETA, there are five main reasons for this.

1. Unethical

It is unethical to cause pain, fear and sacrifice the lives of 100 million animals in a laboratory.

2. It's pointless

A report from the National Institutes of Health found that 95 of 100 drugs that pass animal testing fail to work in humans.

3. There's a lot of waste

Although a lot of valuable time and money is wasted on animal testing, many of the results are of little value, as roughly half of the results are never even published.

4. Old

Non-animal testing methods have been developed that are cheaper, faster, more accurate, more humane and more effective than animal testing (organ chips, organoids, human-based microdosing, in vitro techniques, human patient simulators, advanced computational modelling, etc.).

5. Not necessary

For reasons 1 to 4 above, animal testing is considered unnecessary.

Questions about cruelty-free

No one wants to sacrifice animals when using cosmetics, but it is also true that some people are unaware that animal testing is taking place.

Here are five questions and answers people might want to know when they find out that cruelty-free cosmetics are an option.

1. Are cosmetics really tested on animals?

Unfortunately, it does. A study of the top 50 global cosmetic brands found that as of 2021, 88% were not cruelty-free.
This means that 44 out of 50 brands either test on animals themselves or hire a third party to do so.

2. Why is animal testing carried out?

The main reason why cosmetics are still tested on animals is because Chinese law requires animal testing in some cases. The Chinese cosmetics market is huge, and animal testing was necessary to expand business by selling in China.

Since this was mandatory until 2021, most products released up until then would have undergone animal testing. However, from May 2021, Chinese law was amended to state that animal testing is no longer required for cosmetics that meet the following conditions:

• Skin care, makeup, and hair care products that are not intended for infants or young children
• Skin care, makeup, and hair care products that do not contain new ingredients
• Items sold online and in Hong Kong only
• Made in China
• Manufactured in a GMP facility outside of China, with the required documentation to prove safety submitted

Also, animal testing has been banned in the EU since 2013. Animal testing only for final products. Animal testing is permitted or required when developing raw materials and ingredients. This law is intended to ensure the safety of humans involved in production, and is not limited to the EU.

3. What kind of experiments are conducted on animals?

These experiments are conducted to examine the irritation, toxicity, and effects on the human eyes, skin, and body. Because using humans can be dangerous, they are conducted on animals instead.

The experiments are conducted over long periods of time using mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, fish, dogs, etc. Naturally, the experiments involve severe pain and suffering.

For example, guinea pigs and rabbits are used for skin and eye tests, where large amounts of chemicals are painted or injected into their shaved skin or eyes, and rats and dogs are used for acute toxicity tests, where very high, lethal doses of chemicals are injected or force-fed into their bodies.

4. What effects does animal testing have on animals?

Animal testing can last for several months or even the entire life of the animal.

Pregnant rats, rabbits and dogs are also force-fed the chemicals to see if their offspring are born with deformities or die during pregnancy.

Of course, some animals die during the experiment, and even if they survive until the end of the experiment, they are usually killed afterwards.

5. What can consumers do?

The voices against animal testing in cosmetics are growing worldwide, and as a result, more and more brands are moving away from animal testing.

First of all, you should carefully check the brand's policy. It is also important to determine whether they really do not conduct animal testing. Even if they declare that they do not conduct animal testing, they may actually outsource the testing to a third party.

Few countries, including Japan, have laws that regulate the labeling of cruelty-free products, so it can be difficult for consumers to determine whether a product is cruelty-free or not.
In that case, why not look for products that have been certified by LEAPING BUNNY ? This certification is only given to products that have not undergone new animal testing at any stage of product development.

Countries that ban animal testing

We have mentioned that animal testing for final products was banned in the EU in 2013. However, the EU is not the only country that has banned animal testing. The following countries and regions also prohibit animal testing.

• Some US states (California, Nevada, Hawaii, Virginia, etc.)
• England
• Australia
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• new zealand
• India
• Türkiye
• Mexico
• Some Brazilian states
• Columbia
• Israel
• Norway
• Switzerland
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Guatemala

Approximately 23% of countries and regions around the world have banned animal testing for cosmetics. However, in Japan, the matter has only just begun to be considered , and there are no regulations in place.

Cruelty-free and vegan are different

Are you choosing vegan cosmetics because you are concerned about animal welfare? Unfortunately, vegan cosmetics may have been tested on animals.

Vegan cosmetics are cosmetics that do not use ingredients derived from animals. They are different standards from cruelty-free cosmetics, which means that no animal testing is conducted.

Therefore, even vegan cosmetics that do not use any animal-derived ingredients may have their safety confirmed through animal testing.

By the way, for the same reason, vegan cosmetics are not necessarily 100% natural ingredients. As long as it is not derived from animals, vegan cosmetics are OK. Therefore, there is a possibility that synthetic ingredients may be included.

It's important to think about what you value when choosing cosmetics. And it's just as important to acquire the necessary knowledge and information in order to correctly choose cosmetics that fit your values.