Cruelty-free refers to animal welfare and whether any animals were hurt or harmed during the production of the garment. In fashion, it also means that the product contains no animal byproducts, but on beauty products it means the finished product wasn’t tested on animals. If you want an item that is free of animal byproducts in regards to beauty, you need to look for a vegan product. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the manufacturing process of the item is cruelty-free for humans (for example: faux leather and fur products). There are a number of cruelty-free leather options in development made from natural byproducts such as pineapple skin, but they aren’t yet widely available.

Source: The Guardian