Shocking right?!
I absolutely fell in love (if that’s the right word) with this Italian campaign against animal testing, and it got me thinking. What products in the makeup world, and could be in my kit are still using this archaic and cruel practice, and which ones can I breathe a big, cruelty-free sigh of relief over?
The Culprits
The Procter & Gamble posse
P&G refuses to ban animal testing for their products. This can be a scary stand when you see the list of some of their products!
Cover Girl.
Clairol.
Maxfactor.
Olay.
The Gray Area
L’Oreal – L’Oreal is a bit of an odd one to characterize. They own The Body Shop which advertises itself as a fierce opponent of animal testing. Unfortunately, as a company, L’Oreal doesn’t have any agreement with their suppliers that prevents their ingredients to have the same cruelty free stamp and unfortunately some of the more unscrupulous suppliers take full advantage of this weak stance.
Make Up For Ever – It seems that Make Up For Ever is another company in a foggy gray area. No one seems to know what one of my favorite companies does behind closed doors, not even the top research groups dedicated to consumer awareness on the issue.
The Good Ones
Finding the good guys can be an epic search. Some companies wear (untested on) sheep’s clothing with a promise to not use new products and ingredients that are tested on animals. When, in actual fact this is just a (heavily tested on) wolf statement that actually reads that in five years they are free to use said products with a publicly clean conscience. Lucikly those fun and fur-free people over at PETA have made an easy to understand list for us. Here are some of the good ones.
Bobbi Brown .
Chanel.
Jane Iredale.
Kat Von D.
Laura Mercier.
Liz Claiborne Cosmetics.
L’Occitane.
Almay.
Aveda.
Avon.
Dermalogica
Dr. Hauschka Skin Care.
Estée Lauder.
Jane Cosmetics.
MAC Cosmetics
Revlon.
Smashbox Cosmetics
Stila Cosmetics
Urban Decay.
Victoria’s Secret.
It goes to show you. A little research and a lot of heart, and we can all do something to end suffering in our own small way.