We've all seen those videos on our Facebook feed from animal rights advocate groups depicting the terrible conditions of the victims of experimentation. Let's be honest here, we all know that animal abuse, in the form of animal testing, exists and many choose to ignore this fact. To issues that don't affect us directly, we turn our heads and go on with our everyday life at the expense of innocent lives. But we aren't blind, we just are too lazy to check the products we buy. However, some feel sympathy and compassion towards issues that don't directly affect them, and those people are the source of change and progression.

Animal testing induces pain and suffering to mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. In the United States, no permission is needed to experiment on rats, mice, fish, amphibians, and birds. Additionally, 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs annually. In the cosmetic industry, products are tested on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs by dripping chemicals into their eyes and rubbing it on their skin--without any pain relief. As consumers, we can forget how our everyday products damage animals. Name brand makeup, skincare, shampoos, perfumes, laundry detergents, cleaning products, toothpastes, and soap products test on animals. If you don't stand for the pain forced on animals, do your research, don't be lazy, and take a stand. Rather than buying "Revlon" makeup products, switch to "NYX." Instead of "Pantene" shampoo, switch to "Paul Mitchell." It takes a simple Google search to find out what products are cruelty-free. Though it can be tedious and out of the way to do this research, those few minutes of research can pave the way to helping innocent animals who are stuck in captivity of life-taking experiments.

One company that has taken a public stand against animal-testing is "Lush." Yes, behind the glittery bath bombs and extravagant body washes is a serious movement to stop cruelty. Their slogan, "Fight Animal Testing", is sold on tote bags and seen around stores. But according to the company this slogan should be more than just a phrase, it should be a genuine practice. Obviously, "Lush" products are 100% cruelty-free, which is amazing in itself, but the movement and hype that the company has created is what more companies need to do. On their website they educate the public about alternatives to animal testing, which includes a 3-dimensional human skin models, which can fully replace the use of rabbits for skin irritation testing. For such a notable and famous company, they use their platform to educate customers about the importance of choosing cruelty-free products, which raises awareness.

We have all used products that have tested on animals, but it's not too late to change our purchasing habits. Changing your loyalty to certain products and switching to the humane, cruelty-free counterparts, you can significantly make a difference to the animals who die daily. Don't contribute to the companies that makes animals suffer at the expense of your purchases. By ignoring the information that is at your fingertips, and buying the barbaric products, you are only igniting and supporting the companies. In the end, this causes the deaths of innocent animals. For the sake of the animals', abandon your selfish, lazy ways to help those suffering.