With new makeup and household products coming out each day, it’s essential that companies ensure that it is safe for human use. Unfortunately, many companies choose to test their products on animals. According to dosomething.org, over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in U.S. labs every year.
The tests, which are commonly performed on mice, rats and guinea pigs, include: skin and eye irritation tests, where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the animals eyes, all without any pain relief. As stated by PETA, many of these tests are not required by law, and often produce misleading or inaccurate results. Even if the product produces harmful reactions in animals, it still has the potential of being marketed to consumers.
What brands are cruelty-free?: Fortunately, many companies pride themselves on not testing their products on animals. In recent years, more and more companies have made the switch to cruelty-free.
A few examples of cruelty-free brands are:
-Abercrombie & Fitch
-Aveeda (Estee Lauder)
-Bare Organics
-bareFaced Mineral Cosmetics
-Bath & Body Works (Limited Brands)
-Conair
-Crabtree & Evelyn Cosmetics
-Diane von Furstenberg Beauty (id Beauty)
-E.L.F Cosmetics
-Esse Organic Skincare (The Esse Trust)
-L.A Colors (Beauty21)
-LUSH Cosmetics
-Pathmark Stores
-Paul Mitchell Systems
-Smashbox Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
-Wet n Wild (Markwins)
-Whole Foods Market, 365
What brands are not cruelty-free?:
-Acuve (Johnson & Johnson)
-Airwick (Reckitt Benckiser)
-Almay (Revlon)
-Arm & Hammer (Church & Dwight)
-Aussie (Proctor & Gamble)
-Aveeno (Johnson & Johnson)
-Avon Products, Inc.
-Band-Aid (Johnson & Johnson)
-Biotherm (L’Oreal)
-Bumble and Bumble (Estee Lauder)
-Clean & Clear (Johnson & Johnson)
-Clearisil (Reckitt Benckiser)
-Clinique (Estee Lauder)
-Clorox
-Coach (Estee Lauder)
-Dolce & Gabanna (Proctor & Gamble)
-Donna Karan (Estee Lauder)
-Downy (Proctor & Gamble)
-Febreeze (Proctor & Gamble)
-Garnier (L’Oreal)
-Head & Shoulders (Proctor & Gamble)
-Herbal Essences (Proctor & Gamble)
Besides reading the ingredient list on the package, many companies will advertise “cruelty-free,” “vegan,” or “no animal testing” on their individual products. If you are still not sure, try contacting the company by phone or e-mail and ask whether or not they test their products on animals. Check PETA for a full list of companies that do and do not test on animals.
