How Important Is Cruelty-Free?

Animal welfare labels are being attached to a growing number of products but how important are organic food and cosmetics without animal testing to consumers? According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey, this varies by country and also by product group.

When it comes to apparel, the treatment of animals is an important aspect to take into account for 24 percent of the people surveyed in Germany and 21 percent of those surveyed in India. However, in Germany even more people indicated that they were concerned with animal welfare when shopping for food (33 percent). In India, this was the other way round as only 17 percent said they paid attention to cruelty-free products when getting their groceries.

The Global Consumer survey also found that in India – and to a lesser degree, China – eating meat was actually on the rise after many people had abstained from it in the past due to cultural and price reasons. In Germany, like in other European nations, vegetarianism has been embraced by a growing number of people.

In the United States, animal-friendly clothing was also on a bigger focus than food. An equal number of people cared about apparel and personal care choices, according to the survey, even though the figure was low overall (16 percent). Chinese people were the least concerned out of the four countries at a flat 10 percent of respondents indicating they were adjusting their purchasing decisions in all three categories.