Cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm or kill animals anywhere in the world. Products tested on animals or made from animals are not considered cruelty-free, since these tests are often painful and cause the suffering and death of millions of animals every year. The term "cruelty-free" was first used by Lady Dowding in 1959, who persuaded manufacturers of fake furs to use the label Beauty Without Cruelty and went on to found the charity Beauty Without Cruelty. The term was popularized in the US in the 1970s by Marcia Pearson who founded the group Fashion With Compassion.
While there are no legal definitions for the term "cruelty-free," it generally means that the products are not currently tested on animals. However, some products may be labeled as cruelty-free because the final product isnt tested on animals, even if the ingredients themselves were. Therefore, it's important to have a better understanding of what cruelty-free actually means and how it applies to the skincare products you use. The only way to be 100% certain a company is cruelty-free is to buy products from companies that have been certified by the Leaping Bunny Program, which requires that no new animal testing be used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or ingredient suppliers.
