What Are Cruelty-Free Cosmetics?
And why they matter.
If you use makeup and certain hygiene products, you have probably seen cruelty-free certifications on some brands. But consumers may not know why choosing cruelty-free is important.
Animal Testing is Unnecessary
Chances are if you are buying a cosmetic product in the United States, it was never tested on animals. This is because animal testing is completely unnecessary to determine product safety for cosmetics. Beauty labs today have much more accurate methods and have an established list of ingredients that have already been determined safe to use. The FDA does not require animal testing of cosmetics products for this reason.
Most major beauty companies have explicit statements denoting that they do not test on animals for domestically sold products. This includes companies like L’oreal, Revlon, Estee Lauder, and Clinique. Animal testing is an outdated and bygone practice for cosmetics and hygiene products. The above-listed brands are some of the tops in the industry. However, none of them are cruelty-free.
Defining Cruelty-Free
If you read the statements about animal testing on those above brands, you would notice that they all include a specific caveat. They do not test on animals unless required by law. This statement makes it sound like there are conditions in which the US government would intervene and require testing. But as we established earlier, the FDA does not require animal testing. In the UK, it has been illegal for companies to test cosmetic products on animals since 1998.
Only one country requires animal tests on all imported hygiene products. And choosing to sell cosmetics to this country is a choice, one undertaken with the full knowledge that it will result in the continued abuse and mistreatment of animals in exchange for profit.
As a result, any makeup or cosmetics company that chooses to sell their products in China cannot be certified cruelty-free. But many of them will do all they can to obfuscate this reality. They may write wordy statements on their websites to make it seem like their actions are compulsory. Some will even write the words “no animal testing” on their products to mislead consumers. But to be certified, the company must not sell to China, period.
Thankfully many mainstream brands are cruelty-free. These include Elf cosmetics, Physician’s Formula, BH Cosmetics, Milani, Pacifica, and NYX*, to name a few.
Animal Testing
I was shopping with my mom one day when she pointed out a plant-based cosmetic. I told her it looked nice, but since it wasn’t cruelty-free, I couldn’t buy it. She remarked: “But even if they test it on the animals, it won’t hurt them,” due to the ingredient list.
Everything can hurt you in high enough doses, even water. And that is what toxicity tests seek. They continue to give the product to the animals until it makes them sick. That is how they determine the upper limit of the safe dose. People may think that animal testing simply involves swatching the product on an animal’s body and observing for a reaction, but the reality of animal testing is much more vicious.
Types of animal tests
According to the Humane Society:
- Lethal dose tests force feed the products to animals and measure when they die.
- Skin and eye irritation tests where the product is rubbed into the skin or dropped into the eye without any pain relief
- Long-term studies may be conducted on pregnant animals who have been force-fed the product over time to monitor for health effects and birth defects.
Today, modern technology offers ways to determine cosmetic product safety that is more efficient and more reliable than animal testing. There are human cell tests that can give a more accurate measure of how a chemical will affect a human body than a rabbit or guinea pig can.
In addition, there is a massive list of ingredients that have already been approved as safe throughout the history of cosmetics testing. We do not need to subject animals to this kind of suffering, and when we do, we are not even getting the most accurate results. It is the embodiment of needless cruelty.
The Pressure is Working
China lacks comprehensive animal protection legislation. The concept of “animal rights” is still relatively new in modern China. But the international community has placed increased pressure on China regarding its testing laws, which has already led to modifications. They loosened the requirements on certain products in 2021. With continued advocacy, we can hopefully work with labs to provide the most up-to-date testing and free many animals from suffering. This will be a win for human safety and for animal rights.
Small Steps and Suggested Changes
After seeing this video and others like it of freed lab animals experiencing grass for the first time, I made the switch overnight. I had to change a significant portion of my makeup, my shampoo and conditioner, my body wash, my toothpaste, deodorant, and even my hand soap. I also switched household cleaning products because I couldn’t bear the idea of testing Lysol on animals. This included my laundry detergent and dishwasher soap.
I’m not asking everyone to make this drastic of a switch. If you have dry skin and only one type of lotion works for you, I’m not saying you have to switch it. If you need a special prescription toothpaste, I’m not demanding you change it. But chances are there is some cosmetic or hygiene product you use in your life that can be swapped for a cruelty-free alternative. Your hand soap, your sunscreen, or your body wash. Think about the products in your life that can be switched. There are some great and affordable brands like Method*, Raw Sugar, Mrs. Meyers, Everspring and Dr. Bronner’s that provide excellent hand soaps that are cruelty-free. They come in regular and foaming varieties and a plethora of different scents. I have eczema on my hands and have tried all these hand soaps. None of them dried my hands or lead to flare-ups.
Many of these same brands provide cruelty-free cleaning products as well. Other great cruelty-free brands include Seventh Generation* and Ecos. Examine the products in your life and whether you can make a switch. We can build a better world for animals together.
**NYX, Method and Seventh Generation are cruelty-free brands but have been bought out by non-cruelty-free parent companies L’oreal and Unilever.**
