6 Ways To Check If Your Beauty Products Are Ethically Made

If you’re an animal lover, you likely already buy cruelty-free beauty products. Cruelty-free beauty is becoming increasingly popular, with as many as 36% of women buying from brands that don’t test on animals.

Unfortunately, that still leaves a hefty chunk of brands that do not follow cruelty-free practices, resulting in more than 22,000 animal deaths last year because of animal testing.

If you have already switched to cruelty-free beauty products or are simply interested in learning more, do your research the next time you stock up on toiletries.

Finding out whether your product is tested on animals is still a challenge. With so much information flying around, how do you know what is and isn’t cruelty-free?

6 Ways to check if your beauty products are ethically made

Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels: Beauty Products

1. Do your research

If you know the beauty product or brand you want to buy, a quick Google search should tell you whether it is cruelty-free. Most ethical organizations ensure this information is readily available on their sites. Read up before you buy.

2. Use a search engine

While plenty of information is available online, trawling through it all can be time-consuming. If you want answers quickly, try PETA’s cruelty-free company search. More than 1400 companies are listed, so yours will likely be listed. Type in the name of any company or product, and voila, you’re good to go.

3. Ask at the counter

One surefire way to determine whether your chosen beauty product or brand is ethical is to ask while shopping simply. Makeup artists at big-name beauty counters will be trained to provide you with all the necessary product information you may need, so ask away the next time you’re out and about.

4. Get Social

Cruelty-free beauty products are big business right now. Just look at social media, and you’ll see how popular zero-waste products have become over the last 18 months. Contact them for details if you can’t find evidence via the brand’s Facebook, Instagram, or X. If they’re cruelty-free, they’ll likely be dying to tell you all about it.

5. Inspect the packaging (look for the bunny!)

Check the packaging of your beauty product to confirm if it’s cruelty-free. In the UK, companies are not required to disclose this information on the label, but many choose to do so. Look for certifications like the Leaping Bunny logo, which guarantees that no animal testing has been conducted during any stage of product development. This logo is a trusted symbol of cruelty-free products, giving you extra peace of mind when making your purchase.

6. Watch out for animal-derived ingredients

Just because your product is confirmed as cruelty-free doesn’t necessarily mean it’s free from animal-derived ingredients. If you’re looking for cosmetics suitable for vegans, you’ll also want to watch out for ingredients such as beeswax, carmine, estrogen, glycerin, keratin, polypeptides, retinol, and progesterone.

So there you have it; those are the six ways to check if your beauty products are ethically made. Ready to make the move to cruelty-free beauty? Let us know your favorite ethical beauty brands below.