Garnier has officially received its cruelty-free accreditation after pulling out of the Chinese market.

Cruelty Free International approved the haircare brand under its Leaping Bunny program. 

The Leaping Bunny

The incentive is a globally recognized gold standard for cruelty-free cosmetics, personal care, household and cleaning products. Moreover, it demonstrates that a brand is ‘genuinely committed to removing animal testing from its supply chain’.

The Leaping Bunny is the only cruelty-free license that requires a supplier monitoring system to be implemented by the brand, supply chain checking for animal testing right down to ingredient manufacturer level, adherence to a fixed cut-off date policy, and acceptance of ongoing independent audits to ensure compliance. 

To meet Leaping Bunny’s criteria, Garnier had to secure a declaration from more than 500 suppliers, who source more than 3,000 different ingredients, from across the world. 

It has also pulled out of mainland China – where some products are subjected to mandatory animal testing. 

‘End animal testing for cosmetics’

Michelle Thew is the CEO of Cruelty Free International. In a statement sent to PBN, she said: “Garnier is a global brand familiar to us all. 

“To work with them to help end animal testing for cosmetics and declare them officially approved under the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny Programme is a real milestone. 

“It has taken many months, but Garnier has diligently reviewed every supplier and source and we’re completely confident with the results.”

Thew then described the Leaping Bunny program as an ‘important gear shift for major cosmetics and, said the move is a ‘step in the right direction towards meeting the European Parliament’s call for a worldwide ban on animal testing for cosmetics by 2023’.

Moreover, Cruelty Free International is calling on the L’Oréal Group and its subsidiaries to seek Leaping Bunny approval.

L’Oréal , Garnier’s parent company, is considered the ‘world’s most valuable cosmetics brand globally’. It is worth a staggering $11,747 million.

Is Garnier now vegan?

Although Garnier is now 100 percent cruelty-free in terms of animal testing, not all of its products are vegan-friendly.

This is because some of its haircare products contain animal ingredients such as honey.

You can see the full list of vegan Garnier products here