Are you concerned about animal welfare? Do you try to live a compassionate life? Do you think that testing beauty products on animals is archaic and cruel? Join the club.
It used to be that people didn’t question how their products were tested. The beauty and cosmetic industries have been performing live animal testing to assure the safety of their products for humans for decades. At the cost of animal suffering.
I remember first seeing the images of bunny rabbits with red eyes in the early 80s and I was shocked. I started thinking that I didn’t want to be a part of that. Unfortunately, I enjoyed (and still do) wearing makeup. It wasn’t easy to get transparency from the companies back then.
Fortunately, there are many beauty brands that have turned away from testing ingredients and products on animals. There is definitely a high demand for it as compassionate consumers demand change and better practices. Also, it is much easier to find out if a company, brand, or product tests on animals. I’ll get into that shortly.
Some of the brands we’ll cover in this article are:
- Covergirl
- Garnier
- Dove
- Elf
- IT Cosmetics
- Paul Mitchell
- The Body Shop
- Lush
- Marcelle
- Charlotte Tilbury
Why Test Beauty Products
Obviously, as consumers, we expect the products that we buy not to harm us. Ingredients are constantly being created for the beauty industry and these have to be tested and vetted before using them to make products.
As people became more aware of the torturous practices that the beauty and cosmetic industry was inflicting on helpless animals, more people started voicing their concerns. Including celebrities and high-profile people.
“Dear intelligent people of the world, don’t get shampoo in your eyes. It really stings. There. Done. So f***ing stop torturing animals.”
—Ricky Gervais
“When choosing to develop or use new ingredients in their cosmetic products, some companies conduct tests on animals to assess the safety of these new ingredients. This practice is both cruel and unnecessary because companies can already create innovative products using thousands of ingredients that have a history of safe use and do not require any additional testing. Plus, modern testing methods (such as human cell-based tests and sophisticated computer models) have replaced outdated animal tests with new approaches that are often faster, less expensive and more reliable.”
How to Find Cruelty-Free Beauty Products
Luckily, it has never been easier to find cruelty-free products. Many organizations put together a list of brands and companies that do not test ingredients and products on animals.
I mention ingredients AND products because you may buy a product that was not directly tested on animals, but that may contain ingredients that were in the supplier chain that was. Brands may also get away with going undetected because they use third-party companies to do the testing.
Terms and phrases to look for on labels:
- Cruelty-free
- Leaping Bunny Certified
- 100% Vegan
You can also download one of these mobile apps and use it when shopping. They have extended databases of cruelty-free products that are regularly updated.
Cruelty-Free Beauty Brands
Here is our list of favorite beauty and cosmetics brands that have been certified that animal testing is not part of their supply chain and fabrication.
We chose brands that are easily accessible and some are already household established brands.
Bare Minerals
AGELESS PHYTO-RETINOL FACE CREAM
Charlotte Tilbury
Eyes To Mesmerize Cream Eyeshadow
Covergirl
Simply Ageless Moisture Renew Core Lipstick
Dermablend
Dove
Soothing Care Beauty Bar for Sensitive Skin
Dr. Teal’s
Elf
Garnier
Micellar Cleansing Water with Hyaluronic Acid + Aloe
Herbal Essences
IT Cosmetics
Confidence in a Cream Anti-Aging Hydrating Moisturizer
More cruelty-free brands:
As you can tell, some big brands, like Covergirl and Garnier, are now committing to alternatives instead of animal testing in their facilities.
For more cruelty-free brands read Companies That Do Not Test on Animals from PETA, The Ultimate Guide To Cruelty-Free Makeup Brands: Over 140+ Brands Listed from Cruelty-Free Kitty, and The Compassionate Shopping Guide from Leaping Bunny Program.
Be Kind
I don’t intend to start a debate on opinions about animal testing here. I simply want to give a researched list of easily accessible brands that are cruelty-free for our readers that are interested in shopping cruelty-free for their beauty products.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Do you use cruelty-free products? Is animal testing a concern for you? What are your favorite cruelty-free brands or products? Tell us in the comments below.
