If I were to ask you, “Would you intentionally do something to harm an animal?”, I’m sure your answer would be no. However, you may be unintentionally doing something to harm an animal every single day. Does this idea surprise you? Read on.
Animal testing refers to the experimentation carried out on animals. It is used to test either the safety or effectiveness of a product before it can be sold. Animal testing is used for countless products such as cosmetics, household products, and industrial chemicals.
I have always felt strongly about the cruelty of animals and their rights. Over the past several years, I have looked into different beauty companies that DO test their products on animals so I would know which brands to avoid. I will omit the unsettling pictures of what the animals go through in this process but I want to bring this issue to everyone’s attention so that next time you need to buy a product at the store, you think twice about which product you choose to buy.
Some of the big brands that DO test on animals are Covergirl, Pantene, and Maybelline. All of these brands are found easily at CVS, Target, and Walgreens. You can also see more companies that DO test on animals pictured below:
I recently switched all of my make-up, hair, and skin care products to cruelty-free brands. You do not have to go very far to find brands that are NOT tested on animals, in fact many of these brands can be found at Sephora or Target. If you are anything like me, you are also a frequent shopper at Sephora for all of your beauty care needs. I use brands such as Drybar for my hair products, First Aid Beauty for my skin care products, and Urban Decay, NARS, and Anastasia Beverly Hills for my make-up products. These brands have many products that can fit a variety of needs. I have peace of mind using them every day knowing they are cruelty-free. For a complete list of cruelty-free brands at Sephora click here.
Another way to identify if a product is cruelty-free is by looking on the back of the product by the label. Below are the logos to look out for that mean the product is cruelty-free:
Switching to cruelty-free products is not as difficult as you may think, it just requires a little research to see which brands are/are not cruelty-free and it does not break your bank account either!
P.E.T.A., which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is the world’s largest animal rights organization. If you are interested in finding out about more brands that are cruelty-free or learning more about what P.E.T.A. does, visit their website at http://www.peta.org/.