CONSUMERS DEMAND CRUELTY FREE COSMETICS PRODUCTS

I have had Enough! I’m tired of companies that use and abuse animals in order to bring new, profit boosting products to market. More and more, consumers demand Cruelty Free cosmetics products from the brands they support.

I need to get my feelings on this controversial subject out. I need to talk about the inhumane practices too many companies are still using, or practices they are ignoring at their supplier facilities, in order to bring their makeup and cosmetics products to market. It is animal cruelty, plain and simple.

A sign that displays prominently in a LUSH cosmetics store

I need to take action and make some changes about which companies I choose to support by buying, or not buying, their products. I hope you’ll join me in consciously making cruelty free makeup and cosmetic product choices, if you haven’t already.

CONSUMERS DEMAND CRUELTY FREE COSMETICS PRODUCTS

 

Customers are becoming more aware of where the products they buy come from and how they are made. Consumers want to know what ingredients these products contain, but also how and where they are produced. They want to know the impacts to people, the environment and to animals! 

One important aspect of the impacts to animals is how many products are tested on live animals, including dogs and cats, in order to bring those products to market.

Two sectors that have used and abused animals in product testing are the Pharmaceutical and Cosmetics industries. In this post I discuss animal testing of products in the cosmetics industry. I discuss animal testing in the pharmaceutical industry in my other post Should Animal Testing Be Banned?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates that prescription drugs be tested on animals before they can be placed in human trials for testing. However, through the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA does not specifically require the use of animals in testing cosmetics for safety, nor does it subject cosmetics to FDA premarket approval. Why then, do some cosmetics companies still choose to test their products on animals?!

The cosmetics industry, in my opinion, has No excuse for continuing to conduct testing of their products or product ingredients on live animals. I feel they have an ethical obligation to end the senseless torment of helpless animals just to fatten their company bank accounts. In my opinion, they also have the ethical obligation to ensure that none of their suppliers or third party partners test any aspect of their products on animals as well.

Consumers Are Demanding Cruelty Free Makeup & Cosmetics

Using animals for product testing subjects helpless animals to constant pain and suffering. These beautiful, living creatures are regarded merely as tools to be used and discarded. They live tortured lives filled with pain, deprived of the love, kindness, and respect they deserve.

In most cases, once these animals have served their purpose as a test subject they are killed. That is, if the tests they are subjected to day after day doesn’t kill them first. 

Take a moment to gaze at your beloved dog, cat, rabbit, mouse or other pet and imagine if the pet you love with all your heart and soul was subjected to a life like that. It’s unthinkable. Unconscionable.  The time has come for all makeup and cosmetics products to be Cruelty Free!

WHAT ARE CRUELTY FREE PRODUCTS?

Let’s start with the basics. What does it mean for a company’s makeup or cosmetics product to be Cruelty Free?

For a product to be truly Cruelty Free, it means that the company Does Not engage in testing their products on live animals at any phase of product development, and they Do Not source any of their product's ingredients from suppliers or third parties that test on live animals in producing their products or ingredients.

Some makeup brands and cosmetic brands may call their products "cruelty free", but they still use suppliers that test on animals. This is particularly true for makeup or cosmetic products that are sold in China and that use ingredients produced in China. China requires that animals be used to test certain product ingredients. 

A company that sources any ingredients produced at the expense of the pain and suffering of animals, no matter where it takes place, cannot be considered "cruelty free".

Cosmetics companies may use the terms “Cruelty Free” or “Not tested on Animals”, but there are actually no legal definitions for these terms! 

Cosmetics companies may use third party raw material suppliers or laboratories they have contracted with that do engage in animal testing in order to prove the safety of ingredients used in their products. The FDA doesn’t regulate cruelty free claims!

Although the FDA doesn’t require cosmetics companies to test their products or ingredients on animals, the FDA advises cosmetic manufacturers to "employ whatever testing is appropriate and effective for substantiating the safety of their products. It remains the responsibility of the manufacturer to substantiate the safety of both ingredients and finished cosmetic products prior to marketing."

So basically, they’ve left it up to makeup and cosmetics manufacturers to decide for themselves whether to use the far cheaper method of testing on helpless animals, who they likely deem to be completely disposable, or to invest in alternative methods which may cost the company more money to implement.

There are three organizations that issue cruelty-free certifications as of 2021:

• PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies Program.
• Leaping Bunny Certification via CCIC.
• Leaping Bunny Certification via Cruelty Free International (includes Choose Cruelty free, CCF)

Learn more about Cruelty-free certifications and the official logos that designate cruelty free products on the Ethical Elephant web site, vs. unofficial cruelty free logos that may be nothing more than a company's marketing spin.

Animal testing for cosmetics is illegal across the European Union, as well as in many other countries. Why then, is animal testing for cosmetics still legal in the U.S.?!  The exception is 5 states in which animal testing for cosmetics items is now illegal - California, Illinois, Nevada, Virginia and Maryland - Bravo to these 5 states!

I would like to see the FDA take a much stronger stance and discourage, if not ban, the testing of any makeup or cosmetics products on live animals, especially dogs and cats!

I’d like cosmetics companies to be required to use alternate methods of testing. Testing on live animals should require FDA approval following a full explanation and documentation of why the company feels animal testing is the only way to be assured of product or ingredient safety.

I'd like to see their request for testing on animals require formal, written approval from the FDA before any animals are put through the cruel, inhumane process of testing. See more detail on the FDA’s stance on using live animals to test cosmetics products

The FDA maintains that they support and adhere to the provisions of applicable laws, regulations, and policies governing animal testing, including the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Policy of Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. In all cases where animal testing is used, the FDA advocates that research and testing derive the maximum amount of useful scientific information from the minimum number of animals and employ the most humane methods available within the limits of scientific capability.

Those are pretty words, but they mean nothing if there’s no enforcement or oversight. Does the FDA enforce this guidance? Are there routine inspections of animal testing facilities and how companies treat and care for these animals? From what I have ascertained from my research on this topic, the answer is a hard NO.

CRUELTY FREE MAKEUP AND COSMETICS

I’m delighted to see that there are many companies whose cosmetics and makeup products are truly Cruelty Free. Companies are realizing that consumers are demanding cruelty free products. They care deeply about the impacts of producing the products they use not only on the environment but on animals as well.

LUSH, a truly Cruelty Free cosmetics company

Below is a list of just a few cosmetics brands that Do Not engage in testing their products on live animals, and Do Not use suppliers, or any third parties that test on live animals in the production of their products or their ingredients.

Do you see any of your favorite brands on this list? I’m happy to see that several of my favorites are on the list, but sadly a brand I have used and loved for decades isn’t on the list. 

In fact, in researching cruelty free cosmetics products for this article, I discovered that their beauty products are tested on animals outside the U.S. That brand is Lancome. A few other brands I've used are Not on this list either.

Lancome is owned by L’Oreal, who also owns Maybelline, Garnier, Redkin, The Body Shop and other cosmetics brands. In fact, they own over 30 beauty brands, several of which are actually cruelty free. 

I reached out to Lancome on both Twitter and Facebook asking about their policy on animal testing and here’s what a Lancome representative said:

“Lancome, a brand of L’Oreal, does not test on animals. L’Oreal has not tested our products on animals since 1989. We care for animal welfare and we are for a world without animal testing."

L’Oreal’s statement on their Alternative Methods toAnimal Testing clearly states that it does not test any of it’s products or ingredients on animals and that they do not tolerate any exception to this rule.

Sounds great, right? However, in the last paragraph of their statement it says that  “… Certain health authorities may nevertheless decide to conduct animal tests themselves for certain cosmetic products, as it is still the case in China. 

L’Oréal is the most active company working alongside the Chinese authorities and scientists for over 10 years to have alternative testing methods recognized, and permit the cosmetic regulation to evolve towards a total and definite elimination of animal testing. Thanks to this, since 2014, certain products manufactured and sold in China like shampoo, body wash or certain make-up products are no longer tested on animals.”

I applaud L’Oreal’s stance on animals testing and all their efforts to develop viable alternatives to animal testing. I also applaud their efforts to convince China and other countries to follow suit, however animal testing of some products under the L’Oreal umbrella, such as Lancome, still takes place in China, and perhaps in other countries.

How can I continue to support Lancome by continuing to buy their products?  Sadly, the answer is that I can’t. 

Personally, I advocate for companies to stop selling or producing their products in China or other countries that still insist upon the cruelty of animal testing for makeup and cosmetic products. It is time to put ethics before profits.

Lancome is a brand I’ve loved and used for decades, but until the time absolutely NO animals are used in testing of any Lancome products or ingredients either by Lancome or their suppliers, I will have to bid my beloved Lancome products a swift adieu!

It is only when companies see that customers stop buying their products due to animal testing, that they will sever relationships with countries and suppliers who insist upon inflicting cruelty on helpless animals by mercilessly testing products on them.

Animals deserve our compassion and kindness. We have no right to use and abuse them at will. Testing on animals is harmful and cruel, there is no place in civil society for this inhumane treatment of animals!

Below is a list of known Cruelty Free Makeup brands. This list is just a small sampling of fabulous cruelty free makeup and cosmetics brands that deserve our business.  If your favorite cosmetics brands are not cruelty free, you can find alternative cruelty free beauty products below, or online. 

Avon

BareMinerals

Be Kind Beauty

Billie Eilish Fragrances

Biossance  (I LOVE this Cruelty free, Vegan skincare line!)

Bliss

Black Radience

Botanics

Bubble Beauty

Burt’s Bees

Caswell Massey

Conair

Covergirl

Dermablend

Dermalogica

Dove

Elf

Essence

Faberge

Garnier

Hawaiian Tropic

HourGlass (adding this vegan, cruelty free brand based on recommendation from my Ulta cosmetician & hairstylist, Emily)

IT Cosmetics

JLo Beauty (Jennifer Lopez)

Kiss My Face

Korres

KVD Vegan Beauty

Kylie Cosmetics

LA Colors

LUSH (One of my favorite cruelty free brands!)

Marc Jacobs Beauty

Marks & Spencer

Mary Kay

Merle Norman

Moroccanoil

Orly

Paul Mitchell

PUR Cosmetics

Queen Helene

Revlon

Seventh Generation

St. Ives

St. Tropez

Stella McCartney

The Body Shop

THRIVE  - based on a trusted reader's input, I'm adding Thrive Causemetics to this list. Thrive is a Vegan brand that doesn't test on animals, and neither do their suppliers or third parties

Tom’s of Maine

Trader Joe’s

Tresemme

Ulta Beauty:  Ulta carries many CrueltyFree makeup and cosmetics brands 

Urban Decay

Victoria Beckham Beauty

WEN by Chaz Dean

Whole Foods (365)

This is by no means a full list of cruelty free product companies. You can see many more on Cruelty Free Kitty.com  or on PETA’s cruelty free companies web pages.

There is no logical reason to continue using helpless animals to test cosmetic products, but there are a ton of reasons Not to.

PIN THIS!

Consumers are demanding cruelty free makeup & cosmetics

Animals are not on this earth for us to use and abuse in order for us to look and feel more beautiful or to have better looking skin. Using animals to test these products for the sole purpose of making money is inhumane, unethical, selfish, and just plain cruel! I will no longer be a part of it.

Some cosmetics companies may sell their products in countries where testing on animals is a legal requirement. What do I say to that? Well, then don’t sell your products in those countries! It’s wrong to put profits before ethics at all costs. The only way these cosmetics companies will stop selling in countries that require testing on animals is if we stop buying those products in our countries!

Who's with me?!

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If you have a favorite cruelty free makeup brand or a favorite cruelty free cosmetics product please tell us what it is in the comments! We love hearing from our readers.

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