Testing toxicity to ensure safe products began in the early 20th century. Rabbits were the subject of tests measuring irritation in skin and eyes and these tests expanded to include rats, guinea pigs and in some cases cats and dogs.
Come on people. It's 2016. Why are some companies still testing on animals? At this point, there are so many alternatives that are far more effective. Companies can choose from the long list of ingredients that have already been tested for their new products. Also, a number of non-animal tests have been approved to determine if a product is safe enough for human use. The wildest part of this whole thing is that the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (regulated by the FDA), doesn't even require that the safety of products be tested on animals in the United States.
I'm not saying you need to go throw out ever MAC lipstick you own. Here is a list so that you are more informed when you make your next purchase.
1. CoverGirl
While CoverGirl claims that their final product is not tested on animals, the ingredients in which they use in their products are tested on animals.
2. Revlon
According to PETA's website:
For more than two decades, Revlon portrayed itself to PETA and to millions of consumers as a company whose products were not tested on animals. During all this time, Revlon enjoyed and benefited from PETA’s support and our promotion of Revlon products to women around the world. Revlon betrayed that trust. In 2012, PETA found out that Revlon has been selling its products in China, where tests on animals are required for cosmetics. When we questioned the company about this, Revlon repeatedly refused to answer our questions about whether it has been secretly paying for tests on animals.
3. Maybelline
Maybelline is owned by L'Oreal. Once again, this is a company that claims they do not test on animals. However, they sell to the Chinese market and even have their own Maybelline China website. In China, it is a law that any products sold to the public must be tested on animals. Therefore, Maybelline is not a cruelty-free brand.
4. MAC
MAC is owned by Estee Lauder, whose animal testing policy is "only testing on animals when required by law." Like a handful of other companies, MAC sells their products in China, and by now, you know what that means.
Other brands owned by Estee Lauder include: Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Prescriptives, Tom Ford, La Mer, Ojon, Bumble & Bumble, Origins, Osiao, American Beauty, Flirt, Good Skin Labs, Grassroots, Jo Malone and Michael Kors.
5. Mary Kay
As a company that once abandoned animal testing, they have resumed conducting tests on animals. This is another company that wanted to sell their products in China, so they resumed animal testing to satisfy the governmental regulations.
I'll be the first to admit that these are some of my favorite brands. But there are so many more companies that are cruelty-free and do not test their products or ingredients on animals.
For more information on companies that do or do not test on animals, check out PETA's website.
