Leaping Bunny Certification? What is it and why is it important?

by: Kyle Nordwall

Unfortunately, many products in today’s world are tested on animals, and this is especially true in the cosmetics industry. In and of itself, this isn’t automatically bad, but with animal testing usually comes animal cruelty.

In the last few decades, with the spread of information thanks to our friend The Internet, consumers have become much more aware of all the ‘dirty little secrets’ that used to be kept safely behind closed doors. I remember the fist time I saw videos of actual factory farm footage and I was blown away by what I saw. After watching those videos some 20 years ago I have completely avoided fast food. That’s the impact it had.

So these days, compared to the long forgotten days before internet surfing, shoppers are pretty savvy and knowledgeable and as a result words like organic, sustainable, vegan, fair trade, non GMO, local and countless others are ways marketers help insure people will buy their products. And with human beings we can always count on a few bad apples to take advantage of the situation by making false claims with terms that are not regulated. And this is exactly what was happening with the term ‘cruelty free’.

The following is straight from leapingbunny.org:

“By 1996, 'cruelty-free' shopping had become popular, but it was also confusing, sometimes misleading, and ultimately frustrating. Companies had begun designing their own bunny logos, abiding by their own definition of 'cruelty-free' or 'animal friendly' without the participation of animal protection groups.

In response, eight national animal protection groups banded together to form the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC). The CCIC promotes a single comprehensive standard and an internationally recognized Leaping Bunny Logo, and they work with companies to help make shopping for animal-friendly products easier and more trustworthy.”

 At Hype Nails, we are proud of our plant-based nail polishes in every way, from the list of ingredients as well as what’s not on the list, like toxins and petrochemicals. We’re also proud of our Leaping Bunny Certification and encourage you to look for the symbol, and to buy products that are certified, whenever possible.