today's post is going to be slightly different from what we've posted so far.
I'd like to talk about animal testing in the cosmetic industry.
Please note that I'm not trying to convince anybody to boycott brands that still test on animals or anything like that, I'm just writing about this topic today because it is important to me and I think it's important to cause awareness.
A lot of people don't know that nowadays there are still a lot of companies that test on animals. Also it's not something you think of constantly when using or buying a new product. I have to admit that I didnt neither.
I became a vegetarian about two years ago after reading "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer, because Natalie Portman once stated that book was the reason she became a vegan.
At that time I did a lot of research on animal testing and wanted to clean out my make up collection. One of my favorite brands back then was Lancôme and so I contacted the costumer service explaining my situation, telling them I'm a vegetarian because I love animals too much to support torturing them and therefore don't want to purchase any products and support any brands that test on animals. The customer service answered pretty fast and at first I was pleased with the answer:
Basically what he said was that the L'ORÉAL Group (which own Lancôme) haven't tested any finished products on animals since 1989. Sounds great, huh? The catch is "finished products". A lot of companies will give you the same exact answer, tricking you into thinking they are cruelty free, but what they actually do is test the ingredients on animals or buy from suppliers that test on animals.
For some reason I neglected my resolutions (as you can see in my first blog post Colors of the Rainbow Tag, which is full of non-cruelty free products), and I haden't picked them up again until a couple of weeks ago, when I suddenly started to think about it again. And this time I am much more determined to actually stick to them! :)
I'm not going to post any disgusting pictures about the living conditions for these animals, but I'll link a video by LUSH who (by the way have never tested on animals and) started a campaign in 2012 fighting against animal testing. If you want to see the animals with your own eyes though, you can easily google it. When I confront myself with the thoughts of animal testing and I look at my own dog, I can't help but get teary eyes. Why would a gentle and cute creature like this be consciously tortured by human beings? Maybe you can look at your pets and think about it as well.
I can only speak about the situation in the EU, so if you live somewhere else please do some additional research if you're interested in this topic.
To sum up the last 30 years of animal testing in the EU: In the 80's and 90's the awareness of cosmetic products being tested on animals grew and in 1993 an animal testing ban had finally passed. The parliament knew the companies and (ingredient) suppliers would take some time so adapt, so they we're given 5 years until the law should implement. This means from 1st January 1998 on companies should have been forbidden to test finished products as well as ingredients on animals and should have been forbidden to import, sell or market any products that have been tested on animals outside the EU.
Unfortunately everytime the ban should have implemented there was a delay and until today it still hasn't taken effect. For further information check out fightanimaltesting.com.
So what to buy? The easiest way is to check the package of the products you'd like to purchase. Can you spot one of these logos?
Leaping Bunny
Petas Cruelty Free Bunny
I'm not going to provide a full list of companies that do and don't test on animals, partly because there are too many and partly because for a lot of companies there is inconsistent information. But to give you some help: You can roughly determine if a company tests on animals by checking whether they are selling products in China or not. China has a mandatory testing law, which demands that human cosmetics must be tested on animals first before being sold.
Nonetheless here is my personal list of (some) companies that I will no longer buy products from.
- L'Oréal (which unfortunately includes many other high end brands)
- Clinique
- Clarins
- MAC
- Shiseido
- Yves Rocher (which used to be cruelty free, but unfortunately decided to enter the chinese market, s.o.)
- L'Occitane (see Yves Rocher)
- Chanel
- Yves Saint Laurent
Something that put me into conflict is the fact that a lot of companies that used to be independent and cruelty free, e.g. The Body Shop, MAC, NARS, Urban Decay, are now owned by huge mother companies that do test on animals. Although some of these companies still don't test on animals and partly are Leaping Bunny approved, in the end the money you spend goes to their mother companies.
So I had some difficulties when creating this list, but here is my (currently very short) list of companies I'm happy to support:
- NYX
- Urban Decay
- Essence
- Dermalogica
- Everyday Minerals
- E.L.F.
Yes, you read that right! Essence! I bet you thought that drugstore products are all tested on animals. I was surprised as well when I found out that Essence, which is like the cheapest drugstore brand I know (in Germany), does not test on animals! So I wonder, why is it possible for drugstore brands to market their products without testing on animals while the huge, high-end ones can't?
I will continue to do my research in order to get a make up collection that's as animal friendly as possible :) So the list from above will probably grow in the next few months.
And what about you? Have you ever thought about animal testing?
If you're wondering about a certain brand, feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to do some research on that.
Until next time, take care :)
Jasmine
PS: 1.To help you with your own research I listed some of my sources down below:
DailyMail
hotashi
Leaping Bunny
Fighting Animal Testing
Peta
I choose to trust these sources, but it is up to you whether you do as well or not :)
2. DISCLAIMER: I wanted to state that this is MY opinion, this has nothing to do with Lily.
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