Use Your Dollar Wisely: Don’t Support Animal Testing

2 mins read

People all over the world wear makeup, but many do not know how their purchases affect animals. According to dosomething.org, most people are unaware that “over 115 million animals – mice, rats, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, birds, among others – are killed in laboratory experiments worldwide for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing every year.” When you pay for products that have been tested on animals you are supporting animal cruelty in the cosmetic industry. With our support, these companies will continue to test on animals. Are your makeup or hair products worth the suffering that animals go through?

Many makeup companies only test on animals because it is legally required in China, a large manufacturing country. However, the companies in question do not have to sell their products in China. Animals are not for people to test chemicals on and we should make a conscious effort to abstain from buying products from companies that do test on animals.

One alternative way to ensure a cosmetic product’s safety is to use artificial human skin – such as SkinEthic, EpiSkin™, and EpiDerm™ – which can be used to test cosmetics and save thousands of rabbits each year from harmful tests. Another option is to use chicken eyes, from chickens that have already been killed for meat, to detect chemicals that could be irritating to the eyes, instead of using the eyes of live rabbits.

The Humane Society notes that the Reduced Local Lymph Node Assay for skin allergy testing reduces animal use by up to 75 percent compared with mouse and guinea pig tests. Furthermore, the Fish Threshold Method can be used to determine chemical concentrations that are lethal to fish and aquatic life; it can reduce the number of fish used by more than 70 percent, in contrast to traditional testing techniques.

Brands that DO test animals:

Brands that do not animal test:

Below is a more complete list of brands:

Companies that DO test on animals:

  • Almay (Revlon)
  • Aussie (Procter & Gamble)
  • Aveeno (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Benefit Cosmetics
  • Bobbi Brown (Estee Lauder)
  • Boscia
  • Bumble and Bumble (Estee Lauder)
  • Chapstick (Pfizer)
  • Clearasil (Reckitt Benckiser)
  • Clinique (Estee Lauder)
  • DOLCE & GABBANA (Procter & Gamble)
  • Elizabeth Arden
  • Estée Lauder
  • Herbal Essences (Procter & Gamble)
  • Kiehl’s (L’Oreal)
  • L’Oreal USA
  • L’Occitane
  • La Mer (Estee Lauder)
  • Lancôme (L’Oreal)
  • M.A.C. Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
  • Mary Kay
  • Maybelline (L’Oreal)
  • Michael Kors (Estee Lauder)
  • Neutrogena (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Origins (Estee Lauder)
  • Ralph Lauren Fragrances (L’oreal)
  • Redken (L’Oreal)
  • Sephora Cosmetics
  • Shiseido Cosmetics
  • Stila Cosmetics
  • Tom Ford (Estee Lauder)

Companies that do NOT test on animals:

  • Apothecary
  • Acure (Better Planet Brands)
  • Anastasia Beverly Hills
  • Aveda (Estee Lauder)
  • Bare Escentuals (Shiseido)
  • Beauty Without Cruelty (UK, Europe, & Rest of World)
  • Beauty Without Cruelty Products for North American Customers
  • Burt’s Bees (Clorox)
  • ECO Minerals
  • Egyptian Magic Skin Cream
  • E.L.F. Cosmetics
  • Holistic Skin Care, Inc.
  • Honesty Cosmetics
  • Hourglass Cosmetics
  • Inika Mineral Cosmetics
  • Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics
  • Just Skin Food
  • Lime Crime Cosmetics
  • LUSH Cosmetics
  • Makana Studios
  • NYX Los Angeles Inc. (L’Oreal)
  • Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Inc.
  • Pacifica
  • Ren Clean Skincare
  • Smashbox Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
  • TanTowel
  • Tarte Cosmetics (Kose)
  • The Body Shop (L’Oreal)
  • The Honest Company
  • Tom’s of Maine (Colgate-Palmolive)
  • Too Faced Cosmetics
  • Urban Decay (L’Oréal)

This is Nathalie Camens' third year on staff. She enjoys writing feature articles and opinion pieces. Journalism is important to her because she sees it as a tool to create change and bring awareness about social justice issues.

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