The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) formed in 1996 when these eight groups, interested in animal welfare, joined forces: the American Anti-Vivisection Society, the Animal Alliance of Canada, Beauty Without Cruelty USA, the Doris Day Animal League, the Humane Society of Canada, the Humane Society of the United States, the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, and the National Anti-Vivisection Society.
The CCIC requires participating product makers to recertify annually. Each company must “recommit to upholding their promise to not conduct animal testing on any finished products, ingredients, or formulations,” explains the group’s site.
An honor and a privilege
This month the CCIC updated its site with the most current list of brands committed to making products that are free of animal testing. (There’s a second list on the site of brands that have not recommitted.)
Among the brands on the present list are several from personal care company Hain Celestial: JĀSÖN, Queen Helene, Alba Botanica, and Avalon Organics. Julie Marchant-Houle, general manager of personal care at Hain explains why her company appreciates the group’s efforts and that Hain will continue participating in the program.
“We want to congratulate Leaping Bunny on the CCIC's 20th anniversary, and say thank you for providing consumers with a simplified way of finding cruelty-free products,” Marchant-Houle says in a Hain press release celebrating the logo. “We're honored to have been a part of the journey and will continue to support the program by certifying new brands under the logo.”
A familiar certification
A 2014 study found that the Leaping Bunny logo was one of the most recognized and influential symbols. As Cosmetics Design reported, “the Leaping Bunny certification logo from the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) was a consumer favorite, motivating 27% of respondents to purchase products with the logo and a comparable number of consumers to pay more for such products.”
The same UL Environment study also found that “27% of consumers attributed a ‘positive brand impact’ to the Leaping Bunny symbol.”
It stands to reason then several brands on this year’s list of participants are themselves quite recognizable, namely Burt’s Bees, Dermalogica, DryBar, Intelligent Nutrients, Kahina Giving Beauty, Seventh Generation, and Yes To.