Cruelty Free Products are affordable for anyone – even poor students like myself!

Hi guys,

Here is yet another note from me about cosmetic animal testing I want to share a cool discovery that I have recently made. At the end of this note, I will include pictures that are graphic (they are tame, however, compared to most pictures that can be found of testing). If these offend you, please do not scroll down! I am in no way trying to pass judgement or impose a view onto someone who believes differently, I simply hope to provide an interesting, stimulating and positive option that I hope you will consider:).

As you know, I oppose animal testing for cosmetic purposes. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. It is UNNECESSARY: I do not need animals to suffer (and suffer they do!) for my shampoos and makeup and household products when there are PERFECTLY SAFE, AFFORDABLE, ACCURATE AND STABLE ways of testing that do not involve animals, such as in vitro cell culture techniques and in silico computer simulation. In fact, aprox. 80% of scientists have come to the conclusion that animal testing is totally inadequate for protecting humans from harmful products.

Regulatory agencies DO NOT require animal testing of cosmetics, and the effectiveness of non-animal product testing methods has been thoroughly demonstrated. (On a positive note, in 2003, the European Union passed a ban on the use of animals in cosmetics testing starting in 2009, and a complete sales ban effective in 2013).

2. It is MEANINGLESS: 26 animals (dogs, rats, primates, rabbits, and farm animals) are killed every minute in labs across the world, 115 million animals are experimented on and killed in laboratories in the U.S. alone every year. These numbers do NOT include rats or mice (which make up about 80% or all testing subjects), because these species are NOT CONSIDERED TO BE ANIMALS. 83% of substances are metabolized differently by animals and humans (thus provoking unique reactions), and because of this, only 5 to 25% of the animal tests and human results are agreeable! One of the PRINCIPAL reasons that cosmetics products are recalled from the market is because the animal testing results proved to be inaccurate.

3. It is CRUEL: Cosmetics companies who test on animals argue that these animals cannot feel any pain, thus justifying the testing of such trivial products. This is a complete and utter lie, which is made possible because companies are not required by law to provide animals with any pain relief, or veterinary care, or be inspected by the US department of agriculture. Any type of torture chamber can and has been created (scientists have gone as far as to gouge out a living dog’s eyes – this has been documented :/).

Oftentimes, rabbits (who are used for eye irritancy tests because they have no tear-ducts, thus causing the chemical that is inserted into their eyes to stay there and prolong the poor animal’s exposure to it) die as they scream in pain and twist their necks and backs in agony, trying to escape from acute toxicity and eye irritancy tests. Thats right, they kill themselves trying to escape, and someone can argue that they do not feel pain? The sad thing is that instead of using live rabbits for the Draize Eye test, several computer models can be used to accurately test the irritancy level.

Cosmetic animal testing seems absurd to me: Why use products that require gruesome procedures to test unnatural toxins on unwilling animals? Either way, whether you are an animal lover, a cautious parent who wants to prevent a child’s possible ingestion of a deadly household agent (I mean, do you really need a chimpanzee to drink enough bleach to die, just to know how much your child can drink before it is fatal?? Come on! if you truly need to know that information, don’t buy something that might be fatal!), or just someone who thinks the idea of testing your pine-sol in rabbits’ eyeballs or your acne cream on the exposed flesh of a dog’s thigh sounds gross, you have a number of possibilities that make shopping for cruelty-free products easy and accessible.

In the past, people have been wary of cruelty-free products for three main reasons: 1. They are expensive 2. They do not work as well as the older, more established products that test on animals, and 3. They are hard to find. These are understandable reasons that I want to address. After recently returning to the U.S. as a poor university graduate, I have not been able to buy the high-scale, organic and natural products that I used in the past. Sure, it’s easy to support cruelty-free indulgent products such as Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, ect. when one can afford it:). However, recently I have researched and discovered that drugstores such as Rite-Aid and Wallgreens carry many CHEAP, HIGH QUALITY and EASILY AVAILABLE products that have committed to not testing their products on animals. Many of these are older, well-established companies who have realized the benefits of organic forms of testing. For everyone who is too busy to research and search for specific products, too poor to buy expensive organic brands, or just wants to give these products a try, I have compiled a simple list of 4 different kinds of products that can easily be bought cruelty-free on your next drugstore trip. Give it a try, what have you got to lose?:)

I will list some of the worst animal-testing companies you can find, and then give my own personal favorite drugstore alternatives.

1. Hair

Instead of: Aussie, Clairol, Garnier, Head&Shoulders, Pantene, Redken, or Suave

Try: CitreShine, Revlon, White Rain, Organix, Freeman, Paul Mitchell, Tresemme Naturals, and Kirkland Signature Shampoo

2. Skin

Instead of: Aveeno (whose natural packaging tries to fool you), Clean n Clear, Dove, Johnson&Johnson, Lubiderm, Neutrogena, Oil of Olay, Oxy-Clean, Ponds, and Zest

Try: Palmers (AMAZING products), Nivea, Burts Bees, Victoria Secret, Freeman, St.Ives, and around 20 other brands offered dependent upon personal skin-type

3. Make-up

Instead of: L’oreal (one of the worst and most avid animal-testing companies), Lancome, Max Factor and Maybelline

Try: Revlon or Almay (both have shown true initiative and social consciousness in cruelty-free advances….I am proud of them!)

4. Household Agents

Instead of: Clorox, Drano, Lysol, Tide, Tilex, Pledge, Mr. Clean, Raid, Pinesol, and Windex (Keep in mind that any chemical agent contains toxins that can be fatal if ingested)

Try: Nature Clean, Berkely dishsoap, Nature-Watch, Seventh Generation and Mrs.Meyes products (All of which are ANTI-TOXIC and found at any drugstore in the US (this might be harder in Mexico, although I have found some there too!). I can say, from personal experience, that these products do not differ in quality from any of the more toxic ones – try it out for yourself and see! Plus, the dish soaps, although still anti-bacterial, do not dry out your hands with harsh chemicals – an extra bonus:)

*These are just a few of my favorite options available in drugstores. For a full list, go to: http://www.idausa.org/facts/crueltyfree.html

I hope that this note helped some of you find an easier way to support cruelty-free initiatives. In today’s world, I believe that globalism and corporate power makes it nearly impossible for us to live a completely cruelty-free, organic lifestyle. However, this does not mean that we cannot act as conscious, educated and opinionated consumers. What we choose to consume is one of the more valuable powers that we have, and personally, I feel good when I use it to end the meaningless suffering of animals, and promote new and friendly testing technologies. Thanks so much for reading guys, and please add to my list or share more information if you would like to!

Have a nice week/weekend,

Rabab

“Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are like us.’ Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are not like us.’ Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction.” -Professor Charles R. Magel