Support for a sustainable lifestyle also comes from the beauty world. A number of campaigns related to beauty that are ethical and friendly to the environment are also popping up. Not only from environmental activists but this support was also given by beauty enthusiasts and the media.
With the increasing awareness of protecting the earth from the beauty world, various brands of makeup or skincare products also present environmentally-friendly products. For example, by providing cruelty-free and vegan labels on their products.
But, did you know that the two terms have very different meanings? Let’s find out more about cruelty-free and vegan beauty products through this article.
Cruelty-Free and Vegan Meaning in Beauty World
Cruelty-free, true to its name, means the product does not commit cruelty to animals. In this case, it is not testing the product on animals at all stages of its production.
While vegan is related to the use of raw materials that do not come from animals or by-products. Some examples of animal by-products include honey, beeswax, gelatin, yogurt, shark oil, carmine, ambergris, and animal placenta.
Both do have different meanings, but we can conclude that the goal is the same. Both seek to protect animals from exploitation or overuse in the beauty industry.
However, it should also be noted that not all products labeled cruelty-free are also vegan products. Vice versa, products labeled vegan is not necessarily free from animal testing.
Cruelty-Free and Vegan Product Certification
It is not impossible that cruelty-free and vegan labels are just a marketing strategy. Therefore, make sure that the related product also includes a certification logo on the product. There are three trusted certifications regarding cruelty-free products, namely Leaping Bunny (international), Choose Cruelty Free (Australia), and PETA (US).
There may also be companies playing “naughty” by including a fake logo. Some products with a cruelty-free label may also not be completely cruelty-free to animals. Some do not do animal testing only in the last stage of production. There are also those who use the services of a third party to conduct animal tests. So, try to always study or gain a lot of information before deciding to buy a product with this label.
Meanwhile, for products with vegan labels, a trusted certification comes from vegan.org for imported products. As for local products, trusted certification comes from the Indonesia Vegan Society (IVS). However, until now there has been no local product that has received vegan certification from the agency.
So, what can be done for products with vegan claims can be seen through the ingredients used. We can also communicate directly with the producers to make sure its vegan-claimed products.