Contact lenses do not require animal based ingredients in the manufacturing process. In most cases, contact lenses are synthetic and chemically produced using ingredients like silicone, plastic polymers called hydrogels, and fluorine which have nothing to do with animals and do not involve animal testing. So most contact lenses, including ours, can be considered Vegan-Friendly.
Contact lenses are classified as Grade 2 medical devices by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration, US), CE (European Conformity) and the FDA of most other countries. A company who manufactures a product using a new material is obligated to submit the product for animal testing by the FDA for approval of the new material. Such companies usually experiment with samples submitted early in product development stage to ensure that they meet all safety standards. And no animal testing is required for later products made with the same material.
Taking advantage of this, some companies obtain a certification without having to conduct any animal test and make lenses out of materials that have already been developed and proven to be safe. And thus they promote them as products that have not been tested on animals.
Our company also manufactures products by using previously approved safety materials and adding our own technologies which improve wearing comfort. So the contact lenses that we produce and sell are products that are not directly tested on animals. Animals are not used in any shape or form by our company; from raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, and all the way up to sales.
However, we don't advertise our contact lenses to be Cruelty-Free because we can't say with certainty that the company that received initial approval for the ingredients we use did not involve some form of animal testing in getting FDA approval.
Our company is simply able to sidestep that process because it has already been done by another company.
So, in short, we do not condone animal testing and do not use any animal based ingredients. Some other company may have to get the ingredients approved, and other contact lens manufacturers like ourselves are able to run our business without the use of animals.