Cosmetic Testing - We Name & Shame!

Cosmetic Testing - We Name & Shame!

Did you knfreedom_animals_1ow that in most parts of the world (including Australia), animals in laboratories STILL suffer (and die) to test everyday cosmetics, such as your supermarket brand shampoo, and your fancy new red lipstick?

When I first went vegan I was all about the food – switching and swapping all my pantry items, and tossing out anything I could find in the fridge that contained any animal ingredients or derivatives. However, my bathroom cabinet and makeup bag was riddled with big names such as MAC, Loreal, Maybelline, Redken…..and (unfortunately) the list went on! I was a sucker for any ‘new & improved’ line of lipstick, nailpolish, or hair care, that promised to make me ‘glow and shine’ – and yes, I was blinded to the reality of what was really happening behind the scenes to get these products onto the shelves in department stores and pharmacies.

Typically cosmetic testing on lab animals, such as rabbits, cats, dogs, monkeys, and mice, includes;

skin and eye irritation tests (where chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into their eyes)

repeated oral force-feeding studies (lasting weeks or months to look for signs of general illness or specific health issues, such as cancer or birth defects)

“lethal dose” tests, in which animals are forced to swallow massive amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that causes death.

…….all of this to simply make a ‘NEW & improved’ claim on their products, or so they can sell their products into a market that requires animal testing (such as China).

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There’s so much more horror that we won’t go into right now (as I am sure most of you can imagine how much worse it gets) but as part of #becrueltyfree HSI ‘Blog For Bunnies’ week, we want to at least name and shame some of the biggest offenders, the names that most of you will be familiar with –

the companies who continue to test their products on animals, so you know who to avoid;

  • Avon
  • Aveeno
  • Bobbi Brown
  • Clinique
  • Estee Lauder
  • Jurlique
  • Proctor & Gamble (including Cover Girl, Herbal Essences, Pantene, Olay, Venus, Gillette and Vicks)
  • MAC
  • L’Oreal (including The Body Shop, Garnier, Maybelline, essie, Lancome and Kiehl’s)
  • Johnson & Johnson (including Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, Listerine, Reach, Stayfree, Carefree and Bandaid)
  • Revlon
  • Sally Hansen
  • Tresemme
  • Unilever (including Vaseline, Sunsilk, Dove, Rexona, Impulse, Lynx, Simple and Flora margarine spread)
  • Playtex
  • Trojan

There are soooooo many more to add to this list – for a really good comprehensive (and recently updated) list, please check out The Vegetarian Site, also PETA’s list, and Animals Australia‘s list.

Animal-testing-brands

For information on certification (for brands/companies who do not test on animals) please check out CCF and Leaping Bunny. There two organisations are working so hard to help expose the horrors of animal testing, and get people to vote with their dollars by supporting and promoting cruelty free brands world wide.

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