Compliance & certification · For K-beauty brands
Which US clean-beauty certifications can your formula actually get?
The screener checks your formulas against the major US clean, cruelty-free and retailer certification programmes and tells you three things: which you can pursue, which your current formula blocks, and what each one really costs and takes. No seal is claimed to boost sales, and no fee is shown that the certifying body doesn't publish.
Free for founding-partner pilots. Estimates to plan with — the certifying body always makes the final call.
Why certification trips brands up
Six programmes, six different rulebooks.
Every certification and retailer clean standard keeps its own banned list and its own idea of acceptable proof, so there's no single test to pass. Selling in mainland China through general trade can conflict outright with cruelty-free marks. Costs and timelines are opaque until you're deep in an application. And a formula that blocks one programme may sail through another — which is why so many brands spend months chasing the wrong seal first.
What the screener does
Screens six programmes at once
One pass covers the major US clean, cruelty-free and retailer standards — instead of reading six sets of criteria and guessing which one you'd survive.
Formula blockers flagged
You see exactly which ingredient or claim blocks which programme — so you know whether it's a reformulation problem, a wording problem, or no problem at all.
Real cost & timeline
Each programme carries a published cost and review timeline. We show what the certifying body publishes, so you can budget and sequence instead of guessing.
Retailer clean-standard fit
Checks your formulas against the requirements of the retailers you select — Sephora, Ulta, Credo, Target — so a buyer conversation doesn't stall on a banned ingredient.
China general-trade check
If you sell in mainland China through general trade, we flag the conflict with cruelty-free marks before you spend money on an application that can't pass.
Export the summary
Take away a shareable summary for your team, your manufacturer, or your US distributor — the blockers, the pursue list, and what each step takes.
Programmes we screen against
Each programme asks for something different. Here's what each one is actually checking when it looks at your formula.
- Leaping Bunnycruelty-free supply chain, no animal testing
- Vegan certificationno animal-derived ingredients
- EWG Verifiedingredient safety & transparency
- Clean at SephoraSephora's banned-ingredient list
- Credo Clean StandardCredo's banned list + sourcing/packaging
- Ulta Conscious Beautymulti-pillar (clean, sustainable, cruelty-free)
We screen against each programme's published criteria. Programme names are their owners' trademarks; screening here is not affiliation or a guarantee of certification — the certifying body decides.
How it works
- 1
Tell us a few facts — US entity, whether you sell in mainland China general trade, whether your manufacturer can share exact concentrations under NDA, and which retailers you're in.
- 2
Pick the products to screen.
- 3
Run the screen — get, per programme: pursue, blocked (and why), or conditional, with cost and timeline.
- 4
Export the summary for your team.
A pre-screen, not a certificate.
The screener compares your formula and situation to each programme's published criteria to save you chasing the wrong seal. It is not an application, not affiliated with these programmes, and not a guarantee — the certifying body makes the final decision. We never show a fee the certifying body doesn't publish, and no fee here ever changes a result.
Common questions
Does selling in China block cruelty-free certification?
General-trade sales in mainland China have historically required animal testing, which conflicts with programmes like Leaping Bunny. Cross-border e-commerce is treated differently. The screener flags this based on how you actually sell.
What's the difference between Clean at Sephora and Credo Clean Standard?
Both are retailer banned-ingredient standards, but the lists — and the extra sourcing and packaging requirements — differ. A formula can pass one and fail the other, so the screener checks each separately.
Is this an official certification?
No. It's a pre-screen against each programme's published criteria to show which are worth pursuing. You still apply with the certifying body, which makes the final call.
Which certification should a new K-beauty brand get first?
It depends on where you want to sell. The screener ranks the programmes you can realistically get against the retailers you're targeting, so you start with the one that actually opens a door.
How much does it cost?
The Brand Hub tools are free for founding-partner pilots right now; we share pricing when you apply. We never take payment to change a result or a ranking.