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Living Libations is Cruelty-Free
Living Libations 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 Living Libations 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.
Living Libations is Not 100% Vegan
‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.
In the case of Living Libations, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.
How to know which of Living Libations products are vegan?
All of Living Libations’ vegan products are clearly marked on their website.
The following is a snippet of the email response I received from Living Libations when I asked if all of their products are vegan:
“Almost all Libations are vegan. There are a few products that include ethically harvested and produced beeswax: the lip glosses and balms, the perfume balms, Maiden Fern Blushing Balm, and Jai Baby Balm. Sundew Transdermal Vitamin D Crème contains vitamin D from lanolin, which occurs naturally on the wool of woolly animals, such as sheep.”
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 cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, snail mucus, beeswax, honey, pearl or silk-derived ingredients, animal-based glycerin, keratin, and squalene.
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.
Where are Living Libations’ products made?
Living Libations states on its website,
“The centre of our organic operations is our gorgeous, ecologically-efficient, and leading-edge headquarters. Nestled in the lovely and lush forests of Haliburton Highlands in Ontario, our HQ is a beacon of botanical beauty and an architectural work of art.”
Ethical Mica Mining Policy
Mica is a mineral that’s used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.
Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.
So I asked Living Libations if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,
“We like mica as it is naturally occurring luminescence! This natural substance transmits light due to its holographic nature, yet with all that glitters there can be complexity into how the treasure is harvested and processed. There are many types of mica found across the globe, and we like to discern our quality further by only using from a slim palette of mica and iron oxides to which we add a rainbow of plant pigments, and by not using mica with titanium dioxide, ferric ferrocyanide, Bismuth oxychloride, carmine, FD&C colorants, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide, and tin oxide. We do perform due diligence on our sourcing of raw materials most of our producers we have been working with for decades.
We are strict about our mica and what type and what colors we use and we do source it from the USA. The Mica is non-nanoized mica that is safe for lips, eyes and skin and it is free from oxides.”
I hope this article helped you to understand Living Libations’ cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!
