#BlogForBunnies #BeCrueltyFree Week

Pic - from Banksy's The Village PetStore and Charcoal Grill via Getty Images

I am just coming back to regular blogging, so it makes sense that my first real post is about the main reason I started blogging in the first place. 

Finding cruelty-free (and vegan) makeup and beauty products can be a nightmare. Especially when companies word their statements to make it sound like they don't test when they do. In addition to this, once you find a cruelty-free brand, how do you know which products are vegan? If they are good quality or not worth spending on? I'd like my blog to be the place to go to get reviews and find out about new products. Where you can always be sure that the products are not tested on animals, and 100% vegan, too. I want this blog to be a reference for UK and worldwide cruelty-free beauty enthusiasts, and I want it to be fun to read! So that is what I aim for. My mission statement, if you will.

This is why I'm so proud to be a part of Humane Society International's #BlogForBunnies during #BeCrueltyFree week, 9th -15th March.

But wait, there's an EU ban on the import and sale of animal tested cosmetics, so shouldn't everything I buy in the EU be cruelty-free?

Companies are no longer allowed to sell animal tested products here, but if you buy from a testing company, your money is going to support their testing products on animals to sell in other parts of the world. HSI International is working with companies and law-makers all over the planet to end cosmetics animal cruelty.

Yeah but don't they just, like, put makeup on a bunny or whatever? It can't be that bad.

Typical animal tests for cosmetics include - 

Skin and Eye Irritation/Skin sensitisation tests. 
Chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of rabbits, guinea pigs and ears of mice to see if it causes irritation or an allergic reaction. They are then killed.

Repeated dose toxicity.
To see if a chemical is poisonous, animals endure oral force feeding/inhalation or application to shaved skin daily for 28 or 90 days. They are then killed. 

Toxicokinetics.
Animals, such as rabbits or rats are forced to consume an ingredient to study how it is absorbed, metabolised and excreted by the body. They are then killed.

Carcinogenicity.
The rat, or other animal is force fed an ingredient for two years to see if it gives them cancer. They are then killed.

Reproductive toxicity.
This determines the effect a chemical has on an animal's fertility, pregnancy and young. Pregnant rabbits or rats are force fed an ingredient, then killed, along with their unborn babies.

There is no pain relief provided during any of these tests.

Oh. That sucks. But don't we need animal testing to make sure products are safe to use?

In short, no. Animal testing is only required on new ingredients. If it's already in use, it's already known to be safe. There are billions of different ingredients readily available to be combined in infinite combinations to make new products. There's no need to develop new ingredients. If companies want to make sure their product/ingredient is safe, there are more than 40 advanced non-animal tests available. These offer results that are more relevant to humans, and are often cheaper and more efficient.

What about ingredients that were tested on animals a long time ago?

We can't change the past. Cruelty-free companies operate using a 'Fixed Cut Off Date', meaning they won't use ingredients that were tested after a certain date. Other companies sometimes use a 'Five Year Rolling Rule', meaning they don't use ingredients that were tested on animals within the last 5 years. This is not as effective at curbing animal testing, though, as products can often take five years or more to formulate and get into production.

What about parent companies?

A lot of the time, a cruelty-free company can be owned by a bigger company that performs animal testing on some of it's brands. Many people see no problem with buying from them, as the products nor their ingredients have not been tested, and it shows the parent company that there is demand and support for cruelty-free brands. Others say that in buying these products, your money could end up paying for animal testing, as all profits go to the parent company. I personally try to buy mainly from brands with cruelty-free parent companies.



I hope you will join me in signing Humane Society International's #BeCrueltyFree Pledge, and I hope you will choose to #BeCrueltyFree.

Til Next Time,

Emma
xXx

Sources - Humane Society International, Cruelty Free International, Animal Aid.