MY VERY OWN CRUELTY FREE LIST

2/7/16 WARNING: This list might not be updated as you are reading this. I have been in hiatus for 2 yrs & have not conducted a new survey yet to check if these brands are still cruelty-free or not. I will start on researching again for local brands that are cruelty free.  

As promised, I have inquired to a lot of companies that are locally available either through stores, mall kiosks or online (website or resellers) about their animal testing policy. I know that there's already a list of cruelty free brands online BUT not all of the brands I am interested in are there especially if those brands are from small companies or not from USA and EU, so I have decided to inquire on my own. More and more brands are coming here in the Philippines and having no bunny logo doesn't mean they are not cruelty free. PLUS Philippines doesn't have our very own special NGO to inquire, check and collate all the brands produced locally that don't conduct animal testing so we really don't have any list and a bunny logo to base on. 

Thank you so much for dropping by and I hope this can help a lot of you. Let's all spread the word and support cruelty free brands. Animals don't need to be harmed for cosmetics purposes especially if there are already a lot of ingredients that are already proven to be effective and no further testing is required.  Also, there are already a lot of in-vitro testing available for use to check compatibility and safety and I bet those are more reliable than using mice or bunny skin since in-vitro can mimic human DNA better.

You can also help by inquiring to the brands that you like (you can use the set of questions I did) and share their answers to me through the comment section below so that I can update my list :)

Thanks!





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MY QUESTIONS for the companies:
1. Do you (or a third party on your behalf) test your products on animals?
2. Does any of your materials/ingredients ever been tested on animals?
3. Do you sell in countries that require animal testing (like China and Brazil)?
4. Is your company prepared to make a commitment against any new animal testing from this day forward?

*Special thanks to Ms. Kim Paschen of Leaping Bunny for giving me advice on how to word my inquiry and make it better. Thank you so much for the assistance :)

DISCLAIMER:
1.) This list is purely based on TRUST. I have sent these companies an inquiry through email and I based my list on their answers. I did not conduct any other checking aside from the email. This list is not in any form complete because only a few of the brands replied to my inquiry.

2.) I have only included the brands that I see locally either through local online resellers or physical stores. If you can't find the brand you are looking for, there's a chance that I am not familiar with the brand or they have not answered my inquiry.

3.) I have also based my list on the brand's stand on animal testing through their website. I have also included brands from the BUAV, PETA and Leaping Bunny lists and by other well known cruelty free blogs like My Beauty Bunny, Logical Harmony and Veggie Beauty.

4.) This list may not be updated. I will promise though that I will try my best to update it as often as I can.


BRANDS THAT DO NOT TESTS ON ANIMALS
I have included below the responses I received from the companies that I inquired to. Please feel free to read them if you want more info why I decided they can be included in my list.


LEGEND:
* they are cruelty free but with a mother company that tests so I will leave the decision up to you
# Not sure because of ambiguity in answer/haven't yet replied to my clarification inquiry (read the reasons why I placed # for those brands below after the list)


* updated July 19, 2013*

PHILIPPINE BRANDS

Bare Naturals Mineral Cosmetics
Carmen Claire
#Ever Bilena (please check below why I'm not sure that they are 100% cruelty free)
Human Heart Nature
Krave Cosmeceuticals
Leyende
Milcu
Virginia Olsen
VMV Hypo-allergenics



INTERNATIONAL BRANDS 
100% Pure
Alba Botanica
Artdeco Cosmetics
Avalon Organics
Bath and Body Works
Beauty Treats
*Burts Bees
#BYS Cosmetics (please check below why I'm not sure that they are 100% cruelty free)
Carmex
Cinema Secrets
Coastal Scents
Collection Cosmetics
Crabtree and Evelyn
Derma-e
Dessert Essence
Dickinson Brand
Dr. Jart+
DuWop Cosmetics
E.L.F. Cosmetics
Essence
#Face of Australia (please check below why I'm not sure that they are 100% cruelty free)
Gosh Cosmetics
Jane Iredale
LA Colors/Girl/Minerals
Lime Crime
Look Beauty
LUSH Cosmetics
Mark and Spencer
Markwins International
#MeMeMe (please check below why I'm not sure that they are 100% cruelty free)
Milani
Murad
My Konjac Sponge
*NARS
Nature's Gate
NYX Cosmetics
OCC
Prestige Cosmetics
Queen Helene
Stila Cosmetics
Sugarpill Cosmetics
Tarte
*The Body Shop
Too Faced Cosmetics
*Urban Decay
Wet and Wild
YoungBlood Mineral Cosmetics


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For all those brands with #, I will also share the responses I received in my inquiry or the statements from the companies that made me feel not sure if they are 100%  cruelty free.

EVER BILENA
*the answer in Q#2 is what made me unsure. I have sent a follow up inquiry to clarify that part but I haven't received any response as of today 7/18/2013

1.    Do you (or a third party on your behalf) test your products on animals?

               -No. We don’t involve animals in our testing. During the course of product development, we have some volunteers in our company that try our products. We do it responsibly and with the full knowledge of the users. We also have a third party testing laboratory owned and managed by a respectable dermatologist. She uses volunteer as panels to do the special testing that our in house laboratory is not capable of.

2.       Does any of your materials/ingredients ever been tested on animals?

               -Our suppliers use ingredients that are approved by FDA Philippines . If in case they are restricted, we comply with their minimum limits. As far as Ever Bilena is concerned, we do our testing on humans.  

3.       Do you sell in countries that require animal testing (like China and Brazil )?

              -We don’t sell our products to the countries mentioned above. Right now, we are catering the whole Philippines . However, we do have future plans to export our products. Please note that Ever Bilena complies with Asean Cosmetics Directive-a set of rules followed by the regulatory bodies from the member-states of ASEAN (ex: Malaysia , Thailand , Singapore , Indonesia ..etc), which permits us to sell our items to these countries without problems since we follow the same set of regulations.

4. Is your company prepared to make a commitment against any new animal testing from this day forward?

       -Yes we are. Here at Ever Bilena, we care for our consumers as well as the environment.

We hoped that we have addressed your questions. Here at Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc., we can proudly say that we care for the Animals and we support the advocacy to stop the use of Animals for testing. 

MEMEME COSMETICS

http://www.mememecosmetics.co.uk/faq  

“I'm pleased to say that none of our products are tested on animals.”

*I have sent a follow up inquiry to clarify if they can guarantee that all of their suppliers of materials do not conduct animal testing. I haven't received any response as of today 7/19/2013

BYS COSMETICS

http://www.bys.com.au/about-bys.aspx

"BYS Cosmetics are not tested on animals."

*I have sent the inquiry but I haven't received any feedback from the company as of today 7/19/2013. This statement is based on their website.

FACE OF AUSTRALIA

http://www.faceofaustralia.com.au/about-us.aspx

“We are proud to say that we are Australian made and owned and 100% against animal testing.”

*I have sent the inquiry but I haven't received any feedback from the company as of today 7/19/2013. This statement is based on their website.

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HERE ARE THE STATEMENTS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM MY INQUIRIES:

BARE NATURALS MINERAL COSMETICS

https://www.facebook.com/barenaturals

All the ingredients we use in our natural products are plant-based. Our answer is no to questions 1-3 and YES for the 4th one.

VIRGINIA OLSEN MINERALS

http://virginiaolsen.com/about-us/

“We do not test on animals. All our makeup are made from 100% pure mineral ingredients, thus guaranteed to be safe and effective even on people with sensitive skin. There are no harmful chemicals and ingredients included. We are also proud of our brushes because they are 100% eco-friendly, vegan and cruelty-free.”

COASTAL SCENTS

http://www.coastalscents.com/about-us

“Thank you for your interest in our cosmetic line. We do not test any products on animals and we only support suppliers that do the same. All of our products are produced cruelty free and no animals are harmed. A corresponding affirmation can be found on our website under our About Us section. We trust this will be helpful and if you have any further questions, please advise.”

 

LEYENDE

1. We manufacture all our products from scratch. Even packaging and labelling are done at our workshop. The only thing outsourced is the product microbiological testing to make sure our products are hygienic and up to quality standards. The lab we outsource to is Qualibet, and they do not perform animal testing on any of our products;

2. Because we are gunning for Ecocert and Halal certification, we use only plant-based or plant-derived ingredients. The ingredients we choose are Ecocert-certified as well, so it's documented as not tested on animals. Even our preservative is approved by Ecocert for natural and organic cosmetics. We used to use organic Meyenberg goat's milk for our soaps, but we are seriously considering dropping this ingredient;

3.) We have held off selling in China and other Chinese territories because they require mandatory animal testing by their own labs for all cosmetics that pass through their borders. We also do not export to Brazil;

4.) Since we want a Halal certification for our products, we are committed against animal testing, and will not use any animal products, GMOs or human by-products (blood, placenta, stem cells) in our production process and finished products;

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STATEMENTS FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

ARTDECO COSMETICS

http://www.artdeco.de/en/service/faq.html

"ARTDECO does not conduct any tests on animals for its cosmetic products nor does it have any animal testing performed on its behalf.

In order to minimize incompatibilities, ARTDECO conducts internal application tests or patch tests (epicutaneous tests) used to determine the local compatibility of a product." 

ESSENCE COSMETICS

http://www.essence.eu/us/usa/products/no-testing-on-animals.html

“We do not test any of our cosmetics on animals or ask anyone else to test for us. This applies to the final products as well as any of the ingredients in them. Because Essence is strictly against any kind of animal testing whatsoever.  We think it is absolutely awful to torture animals for the sake of beauty products. “

LOOK BEAUTY

http://www.lookbeauty.co.uk/index.php/ingredients/

“Our products are not tested on animals and are 100% cruelty free. We are not part of any approved organization as in doing so would increase over heads dramatically and we would have to increase the price of our products.

Our products are not Vegan or Vegetarian suited as some of the ingredients are derived from sources not accepted by Vegans or Vegetarians. If you would like more info on the ingredients, please see our ingredients page on the website.”

NARS
http://www.narscosmetics.com/customer-care#Does-NARS-test-on-animals_3F00_
"NARS does not test on animals, nor do we have any other parties, such as suppliers, conduct any animal testing on our behalf. NARS uses only the highest quality ingredients which have a proven safety record and are widely used in the cosmetics industry."

VMV HYPOALLERGENICS

http://www.vmvhypoallergenics.com/faq/#faq6

“In vitro means testing done in a laboratory. Many of our tests are in vitro, but we're proud to say that we also do an extensive amount of in vivo testing. In vivo means testing done with human volunteers in actual-use conditions.

No animal testing. Our standards are so high that we have no shortage of volunteers (the human kind) who are eager to try new products. Plus, we do extensive laboratory (microbial, stability, etc.) testing to ensure both efficacy and safety.