Certification: Leaping Bunny

Leaping Bunny

Connecting compassionate consumers to cruelty-free companies

Leaping Bunny Program, operated by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics in the US and Canada provides the best assurance that a product is free of animal testing.

Companies must pledge to end animal testing at all stages of product development in addition to recommitting to the program annually and being open to third party audits.

In order to become Leaping Bunny certified, brands must comply with requirements in place that go beyond current laws. Specifically, companies must:

  • Adhere to a fixed cut-off date, an unalterable date after which neither the brand nor any of its suppliers and/or manufacturers may conduct, commission or be party to animal tests.
  • Set up a Supplier Monitoring System to ensure all their suppliers and manufacturers comply with Leaping Bunny criteria.
  • Be open to independent audits to ensure their Supplier Monitoring System adheres to the Leaping Bunny Standard.
  • Renew their commitment to the Leaping Bunny Program annually.

This is the Standard by which we certify all US and Canadian based companies that apply for Leaping Bunny certification, published in its entirety. 

  1. The Company does not and shall not conduct, Commission, or be a party to Animal Testing of any Cosmetic and/or Household Products including, without limitation, formulations and Ingredients of such products.
  2.  The Company does not and shall not purchase any Ingredient, formulation, or product from any Third Party Manufacturer or Supplier that conducted, Commissioned, or had been party to Animal Testing on said Ingredient, formulation, or product after the Company’s Fixed Cut-off Date. If a formulation, Ingredient, or product is found not to comply with the Standard, the Company will replace it with an alternative that complies with the Standard’s criteria or remove it from the product range.
  3.  
    1. The Company must implement a Supplier Monitoring SystemOption 1. Company must obtain and provide to CCIC Declarations of Product Compliance and Declarations of Raw Material Compliance from each of its Third Party Manufacturers and Suppliers that said persons or entities comply with the provisions of the Standard with respect to the materials supplied to the Company. This information will be maintained on file at the Company’s principal place of business as part of the Company’s Supplier Monitoring SystemOption 2. Insert the following language into the Company’s (and, if applicable, Third Party Manufacturer’s) Purchase Orders for Ingredients, formulations and finished products. A sample Purchase Order must be submitted to the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) as proof of compliance. The language must read as follows: “The supplier affirms by fulfilling this order that it does not conduct or commission animal testing of any cosmetics and/or household products, including without limitation, ingredients or formulations of such products, supplied to [relevant entity] after [Company’s Fixed Cut-off Date].” Note: Companies are not required to obtain Declarations of Raw Material Compliance from suppliers of Natural Agricultural Ingredients.
    2. If the Company only distributes finished Cosmetics and/or Household Products, the Company shall require: (1) the Third Party Manufacturer(s) of those products to sign, and submit a copy to the Company, the Declarations of Product Compliance confirming that they did not and shall not conduct or Commission Animal Testing on said Ingredient, formulation, or product, and further, that the Third Party Manufacturer did not and shall not purchase any Ingredient, formulation, or product from Suppliers that conducted or Commissioned Animal Testing on said Ingredient, formulation, or product after the Company’s Fixed Cut-off Date; and (2) the Third Party Manufacturer(s) of those products to obtain and maintain on file the signed Declarations of Raw Material Compliance, which certifies that their Supplier(s) and intermediary agent(s) comply with the Standard.
  4. The Company shall not allow Animal Testing to be performed by or for submission to regulatory agencies in foreign countries. The Company shall include language as an addendum to its contracts with any Distributor(s) selling the company’s products for entry into foreign markets (any country other than United States and Canada). A sample contract addendum must be submitted to the CCIC as proof of compliance. The language must read as follows: “The Distributor affirms that it will not conduct, commission, or be a party to animal testing nor allow animal testing to be performed by or for submission to regulatory agencies in order to distribute [Company’s] products in foreign markets.
  5.  The Company shall submit the Application for Approval to the CCIC and retain a copy of this document at the Company’s principal place of business.
  6.  The Company shall agree to the following: 
    1. A. Recommit annually; and
    2. B. CCIC may require a Company’s Supplier Monitoring System to be submitted to an Independent Audit. (1) A company demonstrating less than $10 million in gross annual sales must agree to an independent audit commissioned by the CCIC with an accredited auditing firm. (2) A company demonstrating $10 million or more in gross annual sales shall commission an independent audit with an accredited auditing firm provided by the CCIC. 

Environmental Consideration
Ingredients Safety
Social Justice & Equality
Cruelty-Free
Transparency

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