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You can find Dr. Bronner’s cruelty-free products at Target and Amazon.
Dr. Bronner’s is Cruelty-Free
Dr. Bronner’s has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals, nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.
By our standards, we would consider Dr. Bronner’s to be Cruelty-Free.
Cruelty-Free Policies
Note that there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.’ It can mean different things to different people. But Cruelty-Free is generally used to imply no animal testing. More specifically, the ingredients, formulation, or finished product are not tested on animals at any stage of product development.
At ethical elephant, we always assess a company’s cruelty-free policy using our Cruelty-Free Checklist. This ensures no animal testing was performed by the brand itself, its suppliers, or any third parties.
Also, note that Cruelty-Free and Vegan don’t always mean the same thing.
Dr. Bronner’s is Not 100% Vegan
‘Vegan’ may refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.
In the case of Dr. Bronner’s, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.
How to know which of Dr. Bronner’s products are vegan?
All of Dr. Bronner’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. In addition, Dr. Bronner’s claims all of their products are vegan except their lip and body balms which contain beeswax.
“Please rest assured that almost all of our products are certified Vegan, with the exception of our Balms. This is because our Balms contain sustainably sourced bees wax.”
Vegan Policies
Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it usually means no animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.
Some common animal products used in consumer and household cleaning products include animal-based glycerin, honey, and other animal-based surfactants.
There are plant-based and synthetic alternatives to animal-derived ingredients. But it’s sometimes difficult to know with certainty whether a product is vegan just by reading the ingredient list.
So it’s best to ask the company and manufacturers to ensure the ingredients they’ve chosen to use were from non-animal sources.
I hope this article helped you to understand Dr. Bronner’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing once and for all!
