Since adopting a CF lifestyle at the start of 2016, I've wanted to find a way to express my opinions on it and, most importantly, spread the information I've acquired so that hopefully more people can make the ethical switch.
After becoming vegetarian last September, my passion for animal rights and my desire to live a more ethical lifestyle has grown and flourished into what it is today. I want to stress one thing - it was a process. It was never something that I thought I could do overnight. Buying cruelty free is a big change, and for most people, it'll take some adjusting to get used to. Anyway, a few months after going veggie, I decided to switch over to CF makeup and beauty in January. Further along, I moved into CF household products such as cleaners and laundry soaps. While the actual action happened over the course of a few weeks or even months, the decision only took me a second. Once I made the connection between what I was supporting by buying from these companies, all for the sake of beauty, it wasn't something I had to think about. The only logical thing to do was to make the switch. What is Cruelty Free? In case you're a bit lost in the terminology, I'll explain this quickly. Cruelty Free (or CF) simply means that the products or their ingredients were not tested on animals, during any stage of production. While animal testing may seem like a thing of the past, it is sadly a well hidden reality. Most popular brands you're used to seeing at your local drugstore are not CF - for example: Maybelline, L'Oreal, Tresemme, Herbal Essences, Crest, Clorox... the list, unfortunately, goes on for miles. You may ask: how can companies still get away with this? Why do they even do it in the first place? While these companies may believe that testing their products on animals is the only way to make sure they're safe for humans, this is completely false. As expected, the way a chemical reacts to a rabbit or a dog won't necessarily be the way it reacts to human flesh, so the tests often don't even yield useful results. And how do they get away with it? Well, that one's simple. They lie. Traps To Not Fall For Well, maybe they don't completely lie, but they definitely don't tell the whole truth either. You can even read the FAQ on the websites for some of the companies I listed above, and when asked about animal testing, they will say they don't test. After all, it's 2016 - it would look terrible for a company to openly claim that they still do. There's different ways a company can be non-CF, and here's a bit of a breakdown: 1) Final Products are Tested Self-explanatory: the final products, whatever they may be, are tested on animals by the company themselves. From my own research, this doesn't seem to be common amongst bigger brands, since they can't exactly lie or beat around the bush about that. However, some companies have other people secretly do the testing for them - so they can technically say they don't. 2) Ingredients are Tested This is a more common one. Companies buy - knowingly - from other companies who have tested the ingredients on animals. So while your shower gel wasn't tested in the final stages of production, the ingredients already were when they were sent to be all mixed together. 3) Products are Sold in China If you ever find that a company sells their products in China, it automatically makes them non-CF. This is because China is the only company to have laws requiring animal testing before anything is allowed to be sold there. Basically, this means that the company values profit over animals lives - yikes. What's The Reality? Sadly, animal testing isn't just scientists putting mascara on a bunny. The harsh reality is that these tests are performed on an array of different animals, including small animals like bunnies or mice, to even bigger animals such as dogs or cats. Due to their trusting and loyal nature, Beagles are a common breed to undergo testing for products. (x) These animals are contained in terrible conditions, jabbed and poked with syringes, injecting chemicals and poisons into them. They're stabbed in the limbs, faces, eyes. Many animals die from these toxic substances. For what? So a cosmetics company knows not to use that chemical in their newest foundation? Listen, I don't want to be one of those vegans who guilt you into changing your lifestyle habits. In fact, I want to emphasize that I don't think you need to even be vegan to live CF (in terms of beauty/household). I realize changing your diet is a much bigger deal than changing what makeup or laundry detergent you use. But I think as humans, we can all empathize for these poor mistreated animals. So ask yourself: is it worth it? Is your favourite concealer or tooth paste worth the pain, suffering, and death that it took to create? CF options are all around - and maybe in some cases, you may need to go a bit out of your way. But what's more important to you: convenience, or lives? For more information on what brands are and aren't Cruelty Free, I highly recommend checking out LOGICAL HARMONY and CRUELTY FREE KITTY, which are both incredible blogs with up-to-date info on what and where to buy. There are also many apps that help you actively make the ethical choice while you shop. As much as I'd love to share my own personal favourite CF brands, I'm currently still transitioning into vegan CF, so I feel like I need to clean up my list a bit. Remember, your dollar is your voice and your vote. Who do you want to be supporting, and what kind of society do you want to be contributing to? C
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Authoradmirer of beautiful things, amateur artist, perpetually confused. Archives
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