The first-ever winners of our Cruelty Free NZ Awards have been announced with cruelty-free brands Kester Black, the Bonbon Factory and Aleph Beauty receiving first, second and third place.

Our new annual awards program has been set up to help promote genuinely cruelty-free products and brands and support the community to make kinder shopping decisions.

It is estimated that globally around 500,000 animals suffer and die just for cosmetics each year so it's crucial that New Zealanders are made more aware of the brands that they can safely support without contributing to this!

We invited our amazing supporters and the wider public to vote for their favourite brand featured in their Cruelty Free Guide – an online resource that can be used to find out what products and brands are 100% free from animal testing and are available to purchase in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Thousands of people took part and voted for their favourite cruelty-free company. Find out more about our winners below. 

Our Cruelty Free NZ Awards are the perfect way to give companies that are 100% free from animal testing the public recognition that they deserve. They are also a good way of reminding Kiwis to make sure that the products they are purchasing are not tested on animals! 

More about the winners:

First place — Kester Black

“It’s an incredible honour to win the first-ever Cruelty Free NZ awards. My nature-filled upbringing in New Zealand was how I first established my ethical values so to have this recognised by a National award is incredibly heart-warming,” — Anna Ross, Director of Kester Black.

Kester Black sells cruelty-free lipstick, nail polish, and nail polish remover and all of their products are vegan-friendly.

Second place — the Bonbon Factory

"At the Bonbon Factory, we are proud to handcraft vegan and cruelty-free bath and body products right here in New Zealand to brighten people’s days! We are so thrilled and delighted to have won such an amazing award. From our hearts, we thank everyone who has voted and supported us!” — Stephanie Peacocke, Founder of the Bonbon Factory.

The Bonbon Factory sells cruelty-free hand sanitiser, hand soap, body oil, body wash, body soap, body butter, body scrub, facial cleanser, facial moisturiser, face masks, lip balm, brush cleaner, healing balm, deodorant, bath bombs, bubble bath, shampoo bar, hair cream, air freshener and more! All of their products are also vegan-friendly.

Third place — Aleph Beauty

“As a young company, we are absolutely blown away by the support and love we have received from our loyal customers. It goes to show that people are becoming more conscious and demanding more from their favourite brands. This is just the beginning for cruelty-free and vegan beauty," — Emma Peters, Founder of Aleph Beauty.

Aleph Beauty sells cruelty-free concealer, foundation, cheek/lip tint, highlighter, makeup brushes, facial serum, and eyeshadow. 100% of their products are vegan too!

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