Vegan? Not Exactly. Cruelty-Free? Absolutely.

More so than ever, companies are moving towards, if not completely, creating cruelty-free or vegan cosmetics and self-care products. At Sacred Child Beauty, we LOVE animals and have two feline “assistants,” named Beyonce and Slim Shady. Quite the duo, we know. We are happy and relieved to witness the rise in consumer sustainable awareness and eco-friendly consciousness that has led shoppers to reflect on how animals are incorporated in our everyday beauty products. They are joining us in the fight to demand change.
When was the last time you bought something without looking at the label? It’s been a while, and I applaud you! Even though we are looking at these labels, are we really reading? Within the past decade, the terms “vegan” and “cruelty-free” grew as a serious trend for both producers and consumers. You see these words slapped on a variety of products, and are commonly used as an “argument” for why a certain product is amazing and why you should buy it. These words are often interchangeable, but mean very different things. Let’s clear it up.
Cruelty-free means that the ingredients, components and final product were manufactured without any animal testing. Cruelty-free specifically refers to the testing process, which means that it is possible for a cruelty-free product to include non-vegan ingredients, such as Lanolin or beeswax. Companies apply this label to their products or brand to communicate that they do not play a role in testing products on animals. For those that still test products on animals, we simply ask you, “why?” Let's be honest, animals are the kings and queens of eu natural beauty. They are not going to be the ones rocking a red lip year-round or worrying about the perfect highlighter shade, so why should they be our test dummies?!
Vegan cosmetics means that the products do not contain any animal products or animal-derived ingredients like milk, honey and keratin. So, if you buy cruelty-free cosmetics, it does not mean that there are no animal-derived ingredients. Similarly, if you buy Vegan products, it doesn’t mean that they are cruelty-free.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/aug/28/animal-fat-blusher-vegan-makeup-rise-avoid-meat-dairy-wool-leather-animal-cruelty-products?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://blog.publicgoods.com/what-does-cruelty-free-actually-mean/
https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/cruelty-free-vegan-makeup/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328936362_Consumers%27_Awareness_of_the_Term_Sustainable_Consumption
https://www.translatemedia.com/us/blog-usa/vegan-products-became-beautys-hot-new-trend/
https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-labeling-claims/cruelty-freenot-tested-animals
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegan
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