Cruelty Free Cosmetics are becoming more popular in the beauty industry, however it is so upsetting to see so many brands and major brands still testing their products on animals. Campaigns and petitions are constantly fighting to spread awareness, although it does still surprise me just how many people are still unaware that the brands they buy from still do this. The cosmetic industry is worth over £66 billion, and while over 60% of the population are “against” animal testing, over 250 of the top selling cosmetic brands still test on animals.

What specifies on whether a brand is classed as cruelty free?

Brands must meet the following criteria:

Do not conduct or commission new animal testing

Only use new ingredients when human safety can be established without animal testing

Do not sell cosmetic products in countries requiring animal testing

Basically, no products or ingredients from the company or its suppliers are tested on animals. As there are so many beautiful cruelty free brands out there, I just don’t see why other brands still allow it! So what alternatives do these brands have? In countries where cosmetic animal testing is banned, manufactures do still have to show that a product meets health, hygiene and safety standards – this is required by law. However, the simplest way is to avoid ingredients that have already been shown to be unsafe, and many brands test their products on human volunteers or in clinical trials – causing no suffering or pain to any animals! So! Let’s focus on the wonderful brands that are Cruelty Free and proud!

There is hope!

There are a number of sites listing brands that are cruelty free, such as Peta & Cruelty Free International to help out if Cruelty Free Cosmetics is a new chapter in your life – it can seem a little overwhelming. When deciding to make the transition it became difficult to find out which brands were cruelty free and which brands tested on animals, and when I did find a brand I wanted to try they were usually an American or European brand meaning I had to find ways of getting these products online (which also usually resulted in high shipping costs and import taxes).

There is a Cruelty Free Brand List which is constantly updated, and all the brands are available to purchase in the UK!

Making the change to be cruelty free can seem daunting and expensive. Not knowing where to start can make the whole process just too much hassle, and most of us are not in the position to be able to throw away almost every product we have and buy everything from new. If this relates to you, there is a Guide For Becoming Cruelty Free , to help break down the transition and make the whole process a lot easier! Breaking this down makes it a lot simpler to switch out your every day items such as moisturiser or foundation, down to the less obvious products like laundry detergent.

So What else can we do?

In March 2013, a ban was passed in the UK and all members of the European Union, making it illegal to test products or their ingredients on animals – this was HUGE! Since then, there are many countries now fighting to introduce the same regulations all over the world. While this may sound like incredible progress (and in so many ways it is!), unfortunately over 100 million animals are killed every year, with many more still experiencing the torture of animal testing . Beauty is an insanely profitable industry, and there is such a long way to go. In my opinion, cosmetics are a luxury that we as humans choose to use and wear, and how anyone can justify putting innocent animals through agony for our vanity is beyond me.

As someone who is passionate about this issue, I tend to focus on the positives and the ethical brands rather than inserting images of the devastating effects cosmetic testing has on animals. Although if you are interested there are a few sites that can give more information and statistics on this such as Speaking Of Research, About Animal Testing & Cruelty Free Int Statistics.

Numerous charities and petitions are committed to this cause, and honestly every little helps! If this is something that interests you, you can check some of these out here .

There are so many ways to help to protect our animals from cosmetic testing, and anything you can do at all – as small as it may seem, will help to make a difference.

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Latest Posts bellesbunnies As a former hair salon owner and turning to work with animals, I have combined both passions and created Belles Bunnies - Cruelty Free Cosmetics - to help anyone looking to go Cruelty Free! Guides & advice, brand & product reviews, cruelty free brand lists and much more! Latest posts by bellesbunnies see all) Face Halo Review - May 14, 2020

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