Beauty, cruelty-free

Covergirl’s certification demonstrates that it is possible to be an accessible and innovative brand without inflicting suffering on animals.

While there’s a long list of brands that are already Leaping Bunny-certified, CoverGirl is now the largest makeup brand in the industry to achieve this certification. The news means that all Covergirl products will include a Leaping Bunny logo so that consumers know the product is truly cruelty-free.

CoverGirl has long had a policy of not conducting testing on animals. But to get the “Leaping Bunny” stamp of approval from Cruelty Free International (CFI), a globally recognized standard-bearer, it spent months demonstrating that its hundreds of third-party suppliers also do not perform such testing when creating CoverGirl’s thousands of products and ingredients.

To meet CFI’s strict criteria, CoverGirl will also undergo ongoing independent checks of its supply chain.

“That is a rigorous process and they have to prove what they say,” says Michelle Thew, CFI’s CEO. She noted that while many brands claim on their packaging to not conduct animal testing, that may only relate to the finished product, while the majority of testing occurs in the production of ingredients and along the supply chain.

“Typically, it has been smaller niche brands that have made the effort to be cruelty free,” Thew says, “but what we’re seeing now is this demand from consumers for cruelty-free beauty and it’s moving … into the mass market. I think CoverGirl’s certification is a really significant turning point for the industry.’’

It’s part of parent company Coty’s greater mission to end animal testing in the cosmetics industry. Although the company does not test its own products on animals, Coty is pushing the envelope further by forging a partnership with CFI to help fight to end such testing across the world.

“If we can do it with our size and with our capability and with our complexity… every brand can do this,” says Ukonwa Ojo, chief marketing officer of consumer beauty for Coty. “If we all do it together, we can all envision a cosmetics industry and world that is free from unnecessary animal testing.”

“Listening to our consumers, we started this journey with Covergirl to demonstrate our commitment to this issue by achieving such an ambitious certification at scale. This is consistent with our ambition of growing responsibly by championing open, inclusive and sustainable beauty,” explained Coty CEO, Camillo Pane, in a statement. The move is part of Coty’s mission to make cruelty-free cosmetics accessible for everyone who wants and needs them.

In the Philippines and around the globe, CoverGirl’s cruelty-free certification is regarded as a big step for the beauty industry to stand against animal testing and to make this into the standard in producing cosmetics. The perception of beauty has shifted from something that’s merely a personal preference to something more conscientious of the community and the common good. Especially, Gen Z’s and millennials have started patronizing brands that stand up for something and that align with their values and principles.

“The Leaping Bunny certification of Covergirl marks a new milestone in this area as the largest makeup brand to be certified cruelty free after having met our rigorous criteria. Importantly, Covergirl’s certification demonstrates to the world that it is possible to be an accessible and innovative brand without inflicting suffering on animals,” Michelle Thew, CEO of CFI, said in a statement.

CoverGirl is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Rustan Marketing Corporation. Available in leading department stores, Zalora, Beauty MNL and Watsons.com.ph.