Cruelty Free International

Historically, almost every ingredient used in cosmetics has been tested on animals somewhere in the world, even water! Clearly, Primark cannot change history but, as a company, we are determined to help the world move away from animal testing, to show that beauty, safety and animal welfare can go hand in hand.

What is the Leaping Bunny programme?

The Leaping Bunny Programme is symbolised by the iconic Leaping Bunny logo that you will see on all of our own brand cosmetic and personal care products. The Leaping Bunny logo provides you with the best assurance that our products stand up to the internationally recognisable gold standard for cruelty free products. If a Primark own brand product does not show the logo it still needs to be Leaping Bunny compliant, so you can rest assured they are all approved.

What requirements have we met to become Leaping Bunny approved?

To become Leaping Bunny approved, we have obligated ourselves that neither we nor any of our suppliers and manufacturers may conduct, commission or be party to live animal tests for raw materials, ingredients or final products anywhere in the world, with the exception only of those ingredients that have explicit regulatory requirements for animal testing and provided that such testing was not conducted to assess safety, efficacy, or environmental effects of cosmetics or household products.

We have set up a continuous monitoring system to ensure our entire supply chain, including all our suppliers and manufacturers, comply with the Leaping Bunny criteria. This applies to our entire supply network, right down to ingredient manufacturers. Without continuously monitoring the entire supply chain, there is no way of knowing if animal testing takes place and for Primark to be able to take action.

The criteria for Leaping Bunny go beyond the bans in the EU Cosmetics Regulation and any other cosmetic testing bans in the world. For example, the Leaping Bunny criteria are not concerned with whether the nominal purpose of a test is consumer safety, worker safety or environmental safety. The European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency, by contrast, maintain that animal tests for worker and environmental safety are not covered by the bans in the Cosmetics Regulation. For more information, see https://echa.europa.eu/-/clarity-on-interface-between-reach-and-the-cosmetics-regulation.

All Primark own brand products in every country globally must comply with Leaping Bunny criteria. This includes all raw materials by trade name and ingredients (INCI), all of which are checked at least every 12 months for any new animal testing that may have taken place.

Our compliance with Leaping Bunny criteria, including our monitoring system, is subject to regular independent audits (outside of Cruelty Free International) to ensure continued compliance for all existing and new products.

What products can be Leaping Bunny approved?

In order to achieve Leaping Bunny approval, every single one of our own brand cosmetics and personal care products (not just some of our own brand products), in every single country we sell, must meet the criteria listed above.

For more information about Cruelty Free International, the Leaping Bunny programme and the criteria, please visit www.crueltyfreeinternational.org