Why I buy cruelty free

So, about 4-5 months ago I was on Facebook and someone had posted a picture of a monkey whose arms and legs were clamped in a kind of 'starfish' position and someone in a lab coat was injecting it with something. The monkey was clearly very distressed and it was a pretty miserable picture. After seeing this picture of the poor monkey and seeing Campbell Live's report on the woman who was testing party pills on Beagles, it got me thinking about what really goes on in the cosmetics industry. After some Googling I found out... and it was pretty horrific. The fact of the matter is that most of the cosmetics sold world wide are tested on animals and in a lot of places there is very little enforced legislation to correct this.

Tammy's against animal testing too!

The the real problem is is that it isn't just lab rats and it isn't just make up. Cats, dogs, rabbits, pigs, rats and birds are all used for animal testing and they test everything from soap, sunscreen, shampoo, toothpaste, conditioner, hair dye etc. Basically any form of cosmetic that you use is tested on animals. Now I love make-up I smear my face with that shit pretty much every day but I draw the line at animals, who are no different from the Springer Spaniel at my feet, being tortured and dying for something as frivolous as make up.

Some of Lush's amazing products

It's surprisingly easy to use to find and buy products that aren't tested on animals. Most companies that are cruelty free clearly say so on the packaging but to complicate matters there are certain companies don't test on animals but their parent companies do, The Body Shop is a great example of this*. Luckily there is the internet and a Quick Google search is all you need to see what the company's stance on animal testing is.

Even better are companies such as Lush, Health basics, Artdeco, Napoleon Perdis, Bobbi Brown and many others who don't test on animals at all!. Lush is basically my favourite place in the whole world. Their products are THE BEST and not only do they not test on animals but they actively campaign against animal testing! They're awesome.

I don't want this too be too long a preachy but I just figured that if I was completely ignorant of animal testing maybe most of us are. If you want to know more about this feel free to ask me or check out Peta's website.


* L'oreal and the companies it owns (Maybelline NY, Ralph Lauren, YSL, Garnier, The Body Shop, etc) sells over 50% of the world's beauty products and L'oreal performs voluntary animal tests. The really sad part is that for some of the testing there are other cruelty free methods but they cost more than a dog does.