Cruelty-Free and Vegan Logos and Certifications Explained

by In The Flux July 23, 2021December 25, 2021

Vegan and cruelty-free certification programs make it easy to shop ethically with their easy-to-spot logos on the back of products. If you don’t quite know what to look for yet, we’ll go over the 7 most popular cruelty-free and vegan logos, what they look like, and what they mean.

Vegan Logos and Certifications

Certified Vegan

This is an organization out of North America that verifies vegan AND cruelty-free products. All products with this certification must pass rigorous standards.

This includes:

Ingredients free of all animal and animal by-products
Zero animal testing
No leather, silk, fur, etc
No animal-derived GMOs
and more..

This logo is most commonly found on food items, but can sometimes be found on household products, makeup, and more.

The Vegan Trademark

This is another awesome vegan logo to look for. Like Certified Vegan, The Vegan Trademark makes sure products are also cruelty-free too. Along with that, they also have strict kitchen and hygiene standards and don’t allow for animal-derived GMOs. Their vegan logo is found worldwide on both food and non-food products.

The Vegetarian Society

This organization is based out of the UK and verifies both vegetarian and vegan products.

Their vegetarian logo requirements are:

No ingredients resulting from slaughter
Free-range eggs only
No cross-contamination
GMO-free
No animal testing

For their vegan logo:

Free from animal-derived ingredients
No cross-contamination
GMO-free
No animal testing

Cruelty-Free Logos and Certifications

Beauty Without Bunnies

Created by PETA, this worldwide cruelty-free certification program has the most relaxed guidelines when verifying products. For a product to be considered cruelty-free, the brand must assure that neither the finished product or ingredients are tested on animals. Also the brand cannot allocate animal testing to suppliers or other third parties.

But PETA’s standards do allow products to be sold in Mainland China where animal testing is required by law. So, many disagree with this decision and do not consider these products to be truly cruelty-free.

Leaping Bunny

Leaping Bunny is the most well-known cruelty-free certification program out there. Similar to Beauty Without Bunnies, Leaping Bunny does not allow animal testing on both products or ingredients. It also doesn’t allow brands to allocate animal testing to third parties.

But unlike PETA’s program, Leaping Bunny does not allow brands to sell their products in Mainland China. So this is the most preferred cruelty-free certification program out of North America.

Cruelty-Free International

Cruelty-Free International is the well-traveled sister to Leaping Bunny. It has the same cruelty-free standards and almost the same exact logo. Easy-peasy!

Choose Cruelty-Free

This cruelty-free certification program is from down undah. It is partnered with Cruelty-Free International, therefore has the same standards as CFI and Leaping Bunny.

A Final Note

Now you know what logos to look for, you can now confidently shop vegan and cruelty-free. For more shopping tips check out this post: 5 Ways to Tell if a Product Is Cruelty-Free