Vegan, cruelty-free, organic — what do these labels actually mean?
In the United States, terms like “natural,” “clean,” and “organic” are largely unregulated in cosmetics. A product can call itself “natural” while containing synthetic ingredients. In Europe, and especially in Germany, certifications are backed by independent auditing organizations with strict, published standards.
The BDIH (Federal German Association of Industrial and Commercial Enterprises) certification is one of Europe’s oldest and most respected natural cosmetics standards. Now part of the COSMOS framework, it requires:
Natrue is an international certification with three levels: Natural Cosmetics, Natural Cosmetics with Organic Portion, and Organic Cosmetics. Key requirements:
Vegan means the product contains no animal-derived ingredients (no beeswax, lanolin, carmine, etc.). Cruelty-free means no animal testing was conducted on the finished product or its ingredients. In the EU, animal testing for cosmetics has been banned since 2013 — making all EU-sold cosmetics cruelty-free by law.
The EU is progressively banning microplastics in cosmetics. Many German brands have already eliminated synthetic polymer particles from their formulations. Look for the “microplastic-free” designation on products — especially in scrubs, peels, and rinse-off products where microplastics were historically common.
Every product on ApothekeDirekt displays its certifications as badges on the product card. Here’s what each means: