Around a year ago I made the decision that I want to try my very hardest to be a cruelty free consumer.
After doing a lot of research on the subject I realised the issue is not so clear cut as you may think. I used the PETA website and BUAV.org to open my eyes to the horrendous torture these animals go through for the sake of a lipstick or shampoo. I also used those sites to gather lists of brands that are approved by those organisations. I will link to those lists at the end of the post and I will also include some of my favorite cruelty free brands as well.
I also took it upon myself to email some brands directly to find out what their stance on animal testing was/is. I found that if they did not respond at all they replied with a statement that I had to decipher. This made it very difficult to come to any sort of yes or no conclusion with some brands. I tend to just avoid those brands now and stick to lists I mentioned previously.
The way I tend to categorize the brands are like such;
- Brands that categorically do not test their final products or ingredients on animals
- Brands that do not test their products and/or ingredients but they are owned by a parent company that does
- Brands that say they do not test their final products on animals but are shady about the ingredients
- Brands that only test "when required" by law / working towards regulatory change
Now I am not naive and I realise that even those brands that categorically do not test products or ingredients on animals can not say that since the beginning of time their ingredients were not tested. The likelihood is that they were. Cruelty free brands will usually operate one of two policies 5 year Rolling Rule and Fixed cut of date. You can read more about those here.
It is down to the individual to decide which brands they will and will not support. I personally prefer to not support brands that claim to be cruelty free but their parent company tests on animals. This to me feels like I'm giving my money to the bad guy by using a middle man (the cruelty free brand) to make myself feel better about it. Same goes for "when required by law" companies and shady about their ingredients companies. I tend to trust products with the leaping bunny on and vegan friendly products. It is not always easy to avoid such brands though.
There is no need for animal testing in today's day and age. We are so advanced and if many brands have already abolished such testing and are doing fine then surely that proves that there is no reason for those other companies to continue using those disgusting experiments.
I am not trying to preach or push my opinions on to anyone but this is something I am passionate about and feel more people should be aware of when buying their new beauty products.
I realise that there is a new ban being passed in March 2013 but I still wanted to write this post as I doubt that ban will be loophole less. Read more about that ban here.
Lists of cruelty free cosmetics
All of Superdrug's own brand products are BUAV approved
Soap and Glory have awesome products and are cruelty free
Tesco's own brand cosmetics and household products are cruelty free
Burts Bee's are cruelty free (see PETA list)
The fantastic MUA Cosmetics are cruelty free
There are many bloggers who have also done their own research and made their own lists such as this one.
I hope this post helps some of you looking for some good cruelty free brands or just some information on the matter.
Tanya x
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