Vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics explained

Cosmetic animal testing: current situation

When we talk about cruelty-free cosmetics, “cruelty-free” in French, we are talking abouta beauty product that has not been tested on animals, for an ingredient or a finished product.

The fight against animal testing began several years ago. However, certain peculiarities in the legal texts have made the legislation rather vague. You can refer to the program's focus REACH to find out more.

Furthermore, a new step has recently been taken in the fight against animal abuse and their commercialization on the Chinese market. New regulations allow France to become the first country in the European Union to be able to export its cosmetics to China without prior testing on animals. One caveat, however, is that this concerns so-called "cosmetic" beauty products. ordinary ", that is to say the majority of cosmetics, with the exception of sunscreens and hair dyes.

How to recognize vegan cosmetics?

For even more demanding consumers, vegan cosmetics go even further in respecting wildlife: no substances of animal origin is not used (milk, honey, propolis, silk, any animal fat or other derivatives). This also excludes any form of animal exploitation.

Some vegan ingredients

Good performance and pleasant textures without using ingredients of animal origin: that's the whole challenge of vegan cosmetics. However, to raise it, some products use synthetic ingredients, such as silicones, which are difficult to biodegrade... It is therefore necessary to remain vigilant regarding the composition and favor effective natural alternatives such as vegetable oils, clays and vegetable butters in particular.

At the house of Land of the Seas, we use vegetable oils such as coconut, sweet almond, sunflower, argan and soybean. To take our approach further, we have decided to exclude the use of palm oil. Indeed, it is not the most ethical ingredient, involving deforestation and the massacre of animals that inhabit these forests, including the famous orangutan. Our vegetable oils are more respectful of animals and the environment.

Others actives present in our cosmetics come from ingredients such as coffee powdere, plant squalane, bamboo stems, aloe vera, turmerichas, all natural and selected for their benefits and biocompatibility with the skin.

Deciphering cruelty-free and vegan labels

It may seem difficult to know if a finished product has not been tested on animals.To be sure that a brand is indeed cruelty-free, there are different recognized labels allowing you to distinguish brands that refuse animal testing, and thus provide additional guarantees to consumers.

The main and most serious ones are called Cruelty Free from the PETA association, Human Cosmetics Standard (Leaping Bunny) or Choose Cruelty Free (CCF).

What are the differences between cruelty-free and vegan cosmetics?

So, as you may think, contrary to popular belief, a cruelty-free cosmetic and a vegan cosmetic are not the same thing. A product can be cruelty-free without being vegan. Indeed, certain animal-based products can be included in the recipe of a cosmetic, such as keratin, honey, collagen, musk, etc. This does not mean that tests have been carried out on them. Conversely, a vegan product will necessarily be cruelty-free.

At Terre de Mars, we turned to PETA for cruelty-free and vegan cosmetic certification. Were you familiar with all the nuances of vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics? Is this important in your cosmetic choices?