Leaping Bunny

I had previously been under the impression that Revlon, a cosmetics company I frequently buy from, did not conduct animal testing. Revlon was listed on PETA's website as being at the forefront of major cosmetics companies that stopped testing their products on animals, having given up the practice in 1989.

However, I recently read about the "Leaping Bunny" program, which, according to leapingbunny.org, began in 1996 when eight national animal protection groups banded together to form the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC), in response to misleading information from companies that were abiding by their own definition of "cruelty-free" or "animal friendly" without the participation of animal protection groups. The CCIC promotes a single comprehensive standard and an internationally recognized Leaping Bunny logo.

According to the website, the "Leaping Bunny Standard" is short for the Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals, a voluntary pledge that cosmetic, personal care, and/or household product companies make to clear animal testing from all stages of product development. The company's ingredient suppliers make the same pledge and the result is a product guaranteed to be 100% free of new animal testing. All Leaping Bunny companies must be open to independent audits, and commitments are renewed on an annual basis.

So companies like Revlon, who claim to have banned animal testing, may only be referring to the finished product. As stated by Leaping Bunny, the majority of animal testing occurs at the ingredient level. Similarly, some companies may state, “We do not test on animals,” when in fact they merely contract other companies to do the testing.

As an animal lover, this has caused me to re-think which companies I choose to support with my money. Luckily, the website has a convenient listing of all the companies that participate in the the Leaping Bunny program for everything from personal care to household products.

The cosmetics listings include more popular brands such as Urban Decay, Hard Candy, The Body Shop and even your grandma's favorite, Mary Kay, as well as lesser known companies to check out. Shop it here.