These days, the clothing and beauty market has had to make some changes in how their products are made. Consumers are much more conscious of selecting environmentally-friendly products that don’t use animal products or test on live animals.
You’ll likely notice this buying habit amongst vegans or vegetarians, but anybody can choose to pick products that didn’t have to harm animals to be made.
You can locate most cruelty-free clothing and beauty products by looking for a small symbol of rabbit ears on the packaging or tags.
Some labels also plainly state that they don’t test on animals or use any animal products. Some brands are even entirely dedicated to selling cruelty-free merchandise.
Sometimes it can be a little difficult to find these products, so below is a round-up of some of the best brands known for selling cruelty-free clothing and makeup.
Makeup
ColourPop
Colourpop is a makeup brand based in Los Angeles, California, and is nationally renowned in the makeup industry for its long-lasting high-pigmented lip colors, eyeshadows, and palettes. All of their makeup is entirely cruelty-free or “bunny approved”, as they say.
ColourPop tests all of their makeup on their own employees, which allows them to sell their products for a fairly cheap price, too.
Eyes Lips Face
Eyes Lips Face (also known as e.l.f.) is a makeup brand that has been around for quite a few years and has always been cruelty-free. The brand sells just about any makeup product, from foundations to eyeshadows, to lip colors, and they have a variety of cruelty-free makeup brush lines that come as basic sets or high-end full sets.
They’ve recently released their own skincare line, which is still growing, that is also cruelty-free. Eyes Lips Face is recognized for its quality products at incredibly low costs, starting as low as $1.
Hard Candy
Hard Candy is a cruelty-free makeup brand that is sold exclusively in Wal-Mart stores. The surprisingly quality products start at just a few dollars, and they’re known for their brightly colored palettes and lip colors as well as their thick cover-ups.
If you can only afford drug-store priced makeup, skip the bigger brands that test on animals and look for the Hard Candy section.
Urban Decay
Urban Decay is a higher-end line of makeup that is found in department stored and makeup brand stores, like Sephora. Not all of Urban Decay’s makeup lines are cruelty-free, but their NAKED line and UD Pro makeup brush line are free of animal products and animal testing. The Heavy Metal line and 24/7 glide on eye pencils are also cruelty-free.
W3ll People
W3ll People is a makeup brand that was created by a professional makeup artist and an environmentally friendly entrepreneur. The duo created a makeup line that focuses on natural colors and hues, and it is entirely cruelty-free.
The creators at W3ll People care about your skin, too; all of their makeup is free of artificial chemicals that are found in most other makeup brands that damage our skin.
Clothing
Melissa McCarthy Seven
The actress and comedian, Melissa McCarthy invented her own clothing line, called Melissa McCarthy Seven. The line is very inclusive and offers high-end and fashionable clothing that goes up to size women’s 3x. Every piece that can be purchased in the clothing line is cruelty-free and can be found online.
Della
Della is a completely vegan fashion line that is crafted by women in Ghana. Having the clothes created in Ghana give the women there a well-paying job that provides work skills and education. The bohemia-esque clothing runs from about $56-$148, and Della also sells headbands and tote bags.
MooShoes
Mooshoes is another completely vegan clothing line that is known for its stylish vegan-leather shoes. There is a store location in New York City and Los Angeles, but the products can also be purchased online. The NYC store is even known for being home to a handful of adopted cats! Besides vegan-leather shoes, MooShoes also sells sandals, bags, belts, t-shirts, wallets, and accessories.
Forever 21
Forever 21 is a clothing and accessories store that can be found across the United States. They sell an eclectic variety of graphic t-shirts, sweaters, and pants that come in every color.
Not every item at Forever 21 is free of animal products, but they have a large selection of vegan-leather shoes and accessories. This store is lower in the price-market, as well, with most items selling in the $20-$40 range.
Eighty-Eight
Eighty-Eight sells vegan leather handbags that are completely free of any animal products. The company sells almost every type of women’s handbags and is exclusively sold online to avoid any costly price markups.
The number 88 is symbolic of the Egyptian sign for self-sustainability and a self-contained universe.
A percentage of all sales from Eighty-eight is also donated to the United Kingdom charity, Care International, which fights to provide education to women in poverty around the world.
Etsy
If you haven’t heard of Etsy before, Etsy is an online store that sells products from just about anybody that creates a seller’s account. There are tons of vegan-friendly shops on Etsy that sell anything from clothes, to makeup, to accessories to home goods.
Buyers have the knowledge that any product they buy on Etsy is hand-crafted by the seller, and they aren’t paying for any middle-man price markups. Simply type “vegan” in the search bar, and you’ll find multiple options for any vegan product you could think to purchase.
Hopefully, this list has provided you with enough information to get started on your search for cruelty-free makeup and clothing brands.
A simple search online will show you that there are hundreds of other options for vegan brands that can satisfy any budget, from only have a few dollars to $100 to spend on a product.
Remember when you’re shopping to look for tags and labels that either state “cruelty-free” on them or have a symbol of bunny ears to denote that no animals were harmed in making the products. You can also always ask an employee for information on cruelty-free brands in their store.