What does cruel mean? +10 ethical brands

Last updated on March 18, 2025

Now you’ve probably seen a cruel label on some of your products. But what exactly does that mean? And how does it correlate with sustainability?

Many beauty items are labelled as cruel, such as cosmetics and skin care. However, many other items can be labeled, such as shoes, clothing, accessories, cleaning supplies, and more.

Cruel labels essentially mean that animals that have been harmed by the production of the above products and ingredients will not cause harm. This is important for many reasons, one of which is the inhumane treatment of laboratory animals. Most animals in the lab are not legally protected and are often exposed to horrific, painful experiments without painkillers.

Furthermore, animals used for lab testing contribute to contamination and biodiversity loss. The most common animal is monkeys, often taken from natural habitats and taken prisoner for lab use. In addition to this, millions of animals’ bodies and bedding are disposed of each year, creating biological hazardous waste.

Unfortunately, up to 126.9 million non-human vertebrate animals on a global scale are discarded for breeding, use and animal testing. This leads to many ethical and environmental concerns.

This is why it’s important to find brands that don’t test on animals whenever possible. There are several ways to do this: choose to go vegan or plant-based, advocate for animal rights, and check out certified products that are non-abuse-free.

Here are some things you need to know about animal testing and why you should choose why you should avoid this:

Is cruelty the same as vegans?

No, something that is not cruelty is not the same as vegans. No abuse means that the product was developed without animal testing, but vegan means that the product does not contain animal-derived ingredients.

Ideally, the product will be both vegan and cruel. But just because it’s vegan, it doesn’t automatically make it cruel, and vice versa.

So, for example, plant-based lipsticks derived from vegan ingredients can be considered “not cruel” even when tested in animals.

Related: Best Vegan Shoes: 8 Brands that Make Cruel Shoes

What is the legal definition that is free of cruelty?

There is no legal definition of cruelty. This term can be used in any brand. Therefore, be aware of this when shopping for products. However, it is best to look for certification, such as running a bunny certification to ensure legitimacy. This requires third-party testing.

To jump into bunny certification, a brand must:

A fixed cutoff date, an unchangeable date, and no longer can its brand or its supplier or manufacturer be an animal testing act, commission, or party. Set up a supplier monitoring system to ensure that all suppliers and manufacturers are compliant with Bunny’s jumping standards. Accept independent audits to comply with the standards of the bunny that the supplier surveillance system jumps. Every year, we update our commitment to the Leaping Bunny program.

Is cruel things good?

Yes, it’s good that there’s no cruelty, as it prevents unnecessary suffering and promotes more ethical testing of the product.

Regarding environmental impacts, animal testing is resource intensive and requires a significant amount of water, food and shelter for the animals. The facility’s residential lab animals consume more than 10 times more energy than an office in a square metre.

There is also the issue of chemical waste. A wide range of chemicals are used throughout animal testing for hygiene, disinfection and sterilization. Toxic substances such as irritants, neurotoxins and carcinogens are frequently used in large quantities for long periods of time. These toxins can pollute the soil and water if not properly disposed of.

When the animal’s bodies are ultimately disposed of after use, they are often incinerated locally, contributing to air pollution. Incineration is extremely harmful to human health and causes chronic disease and developmental delays in nearby populations. 11-44% of U.S. laboratory workers experience an allergic reaction to laboratory animals. 4-22% suffer from occupational asthma.

By supporting cruel brands, we are making sure animals are harmful for your products. It also helps to make more ethical, humane and sustainable alternatives the norm.

What is a cruel product?

Cruel products are products that have not been tested in animals at every stage of production.

We’ve compiled a list of brands that you won’t test on animals. I went ahead and highlighted some important features of each brand, but that’s not a thorough list. Please be sure to visit our website for more details.

So, which of these sustainable brands without animal testing would give you a try? Please let me know in the comments!