However, doing research into whether or not brands are cruelty free can be extremely tiring and sometimes even frustrating. You can get a basic idea of what sort of brands are the main culprits in animal testing. However, when you get down to the nitty-gritty details about what exactly the definition of "cruelty free" is, there is often a conflict of opinion. That's why from now on I'll be doing my own research by emailing companies, and I'll write all my feedback on this blog.
Some people claim that if a specific brand is cruelty free, but it is owned by another company that sells in China, that brand is still cruelty free. Other people believe that it isn't actually cruelty free. Also, some people claim that if a brand uses ingredients that have previously been tested on animals, the brand is not being cruelty free. Again that is up for debate.
I personally turned cruelty free because I wanted to be part of a movement that makes all cosmetic brands reevaluate their ethical standards. For me it is more important that a current beauty brand feels like they are able to regain their status of being cruelty free, rather than feeling like there is no hope to win the trust of cruelty free customers.
Some brands use ingredients that throughout history have been tested on animals, although they have never contributed to the animal testing themselves. I personally disagree with saying that these brands are not cruelty free. Most ingredients that were around in the cosmetic industry like 50 years ago will have been tested on animals, because back then it was standard procedure to do. I feel like its unfair to dismiss these brands since they're not the ones that have contributed to the animal testing. You can't change the past and the fact that certain ingredients were once tested on animals, but you can change the future ideology of companies. And I feel like immediately calling a brand "not cruelty free" will only discourage brands from aiming to commit to a cruelty free future.
So here are all the things about companies that I consider cruelty free:
- They do not test the ingredients or finished products on animals themselves, or do not send anything for testing.
- Not selling in China- This is the obvious one because it is required by law that any cosmetics that are sold to customers in China must be tested on animals first. Therefore you can guarantee that selling in China = not cruelty free. On some websites it says "We do not agree with animal testing, unless required to do so by law". This is basically code for "we sell in China where we have to test on animals".
- Not asking other companies to test products for them- Some companies say "we do not test any products on animals ourselves" when in fact they pay another company to do the dirty work for them.
- Their parent company (if they have one) is also cruelty free- If a "cruelty free" company is owned by a bigger company that sells in China, it doesn't make a difference to the bigger company if it's cruelty free. The parent company that's not cruelty free gets money regardless of whether the smaller companies sell in China or not.
- Their ingredients are not currently being tested on animals in anyway- as I said before, almost every ingredient that was around years and years ago has been tested on animals. The way I see it, if a company does use these ingredients now and they haven't contributed to any animal testing themselves, then they are indeed cruelty free.
So here is what I class as being "cruelty free" and I will be only reviewing and talking about brands that follow these guidelines. I will keep this list updated if my views change. But I'll continue to be cruelty free until every company does their best to ensure that they have a cruelty free status. Thank you very much for reading,
Izzy K xxx
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