When you walk into the makeup aisle of a store, you see bright colors, fun patterns and lots of different products that are designed to give you the perfect look. However, there is a side behind all of that that we as consumers don't see, and that's the cruelty behind your products. Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in the US alone each year. It probably doesn't feel so great now to be wearing a mascara you know harmed innocent animals in order to be made. Not only is animal testing unnecessary, there are so many cruelty-free alternatives in today's market.
So what can we as consumers do? We can buy from brands that are 100 percent cruelty-free. And yes, there are many of them out there, including drug store brands! By only supporting cruelty-free brands, you can prove to cosmetic companies that consumers care about being cruelty-free.
It doesn't end there, you can call or write to your local senator and ask them to support the Humane Cosmetics Act. This act would ban animal testing from the US, just like Europe, Israel and India already have. Animal testing is not required by the FDA. Testing products on animals is by no means necessary and is actually not as beneficial to us as you may think. 92 percent of products that have been previously been tested on animals do not pass clinical trials when tested on humans. Yes, skeptics will argue that 90 percent of drugs that make it to the clinical testing stage will not pass, but with that being the case, if animal testing does not even help to increase the percentage of drugs that will pass in the clinical trials then why we harming millions of innocent animals? Remember, what you permit you promote. So why are we still permitting animal testing on our cosmetics?
If you want to stop the abuse and testing of animals in labs for cosmetics, don't support brands that test on animals! Trust me, they're easier to find than you may think. Here's a few of my favorite brands from the drugstore to high end that are cruelty free: NYX Cosmetics, Physicians Formula, The Body Shop, Elf Cosmetics (mascara for $3, major win), Flower by Drew Barrymore (sold exclusively in Walmart), Pixi (can be found in Target), Urban Decay, Tarte, Milani and Purminerals.
Want a more extensive list to see if your favorite brand is cruelty free or not? Check out My Beauty Bunny for a full list of brands that are and are not cruelty-free.
