It appears not only supermarkets and resturants are taking the hint that consumers want more cruelty free products, even hairdressers can see this demand! When I recently looked to book my next hairdressers appointment, I stopped and thought about what products they would be using exactly. I have been cutting out certain products from my routine to increase the amount of cruelty free products I own. It only seemed natural to look for somewhere that offered the same level of cruelty free products as I use in my own personal beauty regime. This then made me think about why cruelty free products aren’t the standard.
“According to a 2016 report by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), over 250 cosmetics brands — including Avon, Neutrogena, Guerlain, L’Occitane, MAC Cosmetics, Vidal Sassoon and Mary Kay — still use this practice, affecting what the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) estimates to be over 27,000 animals each year.” (BOF.com) These are some of the most popular beauty brands and they are STILL doing unnecessary testing on animals. The key issue lies in China where it is mandatory to test on animals any product that is imported into the country. So effectively a product may be cruelty free, but if it is then sold in China it automatically looses the status. Although the product or ingredients may be cruelty free, if they are sold in China they cannot be considered so.
“Although they are not required by law, several tests are commonly performed that expose mice, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs to cosmetics ingredients. These can include:
- Skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of restrained rabbits without any pain relief
- Repeated force-feeding studies lasting weeks or months to look for signs of general illness or specific health hazards such as cancer or birth defects
- Widely condemned “lethal dose” tests, in which animals are forced to swallow large amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that causes death.
At the end of a test the animals are killed, normally by asphyxiation, neck-breaking or decapitation. Pain relief is not provided.” (humanesociety.org)
It seems baffling why these acts still happen. Why are animals being used and killed unnecessarily when alternatives are available? We use these products everyday so hardly give a second thought to what actually goes into testing them.
It is our own personal responsibility to weight up the pros and cons of going cruelty free. A major change I have personally made is buying most of my products from Superdrug. All of their own products are vegan and cruelty free as well as reasonably priced. Anything from toothpaste, shampoo, moisturiser to fake tan is available all with the leaping bunny logo. Its a small change that has actually saved me money and leaves me guilt free. Other great shops that sell vegan and cruelty free include Lush, Waitrose and the Body shop. This is a small change that everyone can do, and it doesn’t need to break the bank.
Cosmetic testing is an outdated and inhumane practice that for some reason still happens! If more people start making small changes then eventually companies will start to take notice and changes will start to happen.
Sources
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/cosmetic_testing/qa/questions_answers.html
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