Cruelty Free is Beautiful
Written by Reese Tackett
Photography by Ellie McCleary
Modeled by Kaitlyn Patton, Reese Tackett, & Cole Vest
Every year, approximately 500,000 animals die due to cosmetic animal testing. Sadly, too many companies are still unnecessarily using cruel animal testing practices instead of cosmetic recipes that have already been tested. It’s hard to truly feel beautiful when your beauty is coming at the suffering of innocent animals. Luckily there are many brands across all price points that don’t test on animals. Makeup should be a fun way to express yourself, not something that inflicts pain on animals.
When it comes to figuring out if your products are cruelty free, simply look at your products and find the certified Leaping Bunny logo or the PETA bunny, that way you’ll know that no animals were harmed in the process. You can also check out this list of cruelty-free cosmetic brands from Cruelty-Free Kitty, a company dedicated to bringing awareness to the cruelty-free movement. There are hundreds of brands on the list, so you’re bound to find the products you need. My personal favorites — which are also budget friendly — are E.L.F. and ColourPop!
Having to look at every beauty product you’re interested in just to find no bunny in sight is frustrating. However, it’s a small sacrifice in comparison. Every day, we vote for what brands we’re supporting based on if we give them our money or not. By purchasing a product distributed by a brand that tests on animals, you’re supporting animal testing practices. Choosing to give your money to brands that are more conscious of their impact on animals and the environment is important.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, animal testing is mainly conducted on mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, and pigs. One of the testing practices includes chemicals being rubbed onto shaved skin of the animals for skin irritation tests. For the eye irritation tests, they drip chemicals directly into the animals’ eyes. According to Cruelty Free International, eye tests on rabbits are unreliable and can take up to 3 weeks to conduct. They also force feed mice chemicals for weeks to months to find health hazards or illnesses. Testers may also force rats to swallow chemicals to find the “lethal dose.” Although it is mostly condemned, it still takes place. After the animals have been used for testing, they are often killed.
Bambii, an Australian cruelty-free cosmetic brand, released an article saying about 78% of the top 50 global cosmetic brands still use animals for cosmetic testing as of January 2024. Bambii gathered a list of the top 50 cosmetics brands and compared it to a database from Ethical Elephant, a company that helps consumers identify sustainable and cruelty-free brands. Across the world there are many countries that ban this testing such as Australia, however China still requires animal testing on most products. So if a brand says they are cruelty free but sell their products in China, they could still be participating in animal testing practices. Internationally, only 45 countries have full or partial bans on cosmetic testing. In the United States, only 12 states have passed laws banning the selling of animal tested products.
This tragedy is unpleasant to read and think about, which is why using cruelty-free products is so important. Since animals can’t fight for their own rights, we must advocate for them. Our furry friends need us! It’s natural for humans to seek companionship and love from animals, and it’s important we protect them from harm.
