Is “cruelty free” the same as vegan?

Created on: October 2, 2026
Last edited on: October 3, 2026

No. “Cruelty free” or “not tested on animals” only means: no new animal tests after a cut-off date. It says nothing about the ingredients. A product can carry the Leaping Bunny logo and still contain carmine, a red dye made from crushed scale insects. Or lanolin from sheep’s wool, beeswax, collagen or keratin. Leaping Bunny says so itself: “We are not a vegan certifier.”

The reverse is also true. “Vegan” on the packaging means: no animal ingredients. Whether the product or its raw materials were tested on animals depends on the specific label, not on the word.

Neither term is legally protected. Anyone can print “cruelty free” on a product. A vegan product in the sense of veganism needs both: no animal ingredients and no animal testing. For the animal it makes no difference whether it was used as a tool in the lab or as a raw material in a lipstick.

How to tell: the ingredient list (INCI) shows you carmine (CI 75470), lanolin, cera alba (beeswax), collagen, keratin and silk (serica). For animal testing you need a label that actually checks suppliers, or a clear statement from the brand on whether it has testing done for other markets.

Three things people often ask about this: in the EU, animal testing for cosmetics has been banned since 2013, with or without a bunny on the packaging. Under the chemicals regulation REACH, the EU can still require animal tests on cosmetic ingredients, and the ban does not generally prevent tests for other markets. The argument “the brand doesn’t sell in China” hardly holds anymore, because China has relaxed its testing requirements considerably since 2021. And of the labels, only Leaping Bunny checks the suppliers; PETA relies on a self-declaration.

The full explanation with all sources: What the labels really mean.

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