The Price of Pretty

Animal abusers are bad people.

This is an agreed-upon sentiment across much of the world, and in America, animal abuse is a criminal charge. If we agree that the act of harming an animal should result in prison time, why are thousands of companies allowed to cripple bunnies, burn mice, blind a hamster, or kill a dog? And why do some countries even have laws that require this?

In the early 1940s, an American law was passed that mandated cosmetic products to pass safety protocols before they could be sold. This was the conception of today’s cruel mass testing labs, where products like makeup, shampoo, and perfume are rubbed on animals, forced down their throats, and put in their eyes. I love makeup as much as the next girl, and it is worth finding a new go-to pallet to prevent so much evil from being done.

There is a major caveat in this argument that animal testing involves, well, animals. While they have eyes, skin, and hair as we do, there are some pretty major similarities that scientists chose to ignore there. In fact, studies show that animal testing accurately demonstrates human reactions only 40%-60% of the time2. How many millions of lives have been wasted for false results?

Image Courtesy: Forever Against Animal Testing Campaign

Luckily, animal testing is going out of style. New alternatives such as human testing have been introduced in recent years, and are proven to have an 80% success rate, up to 40% more accurate than animal tests3. Cell cultures grown in laboratories operate on a mini-cloning scale, meaning the cultures have the same genetic make-up as actual skin. These cells can even be made to operate like specific body parts, such as cornea-like 3D tissue structures that are produced from a human cell sample. 4

Computer models and volunteers are also viable options. Computer models of human body parts already exist to conduct virtual experiments. These can be modified to imitate human eyes, skin, hair, etc. Once a computer has developed a safe rendering of the part, it can be tested on real people who volunteer to help further scientific discovery. Arguably, certain cosmetic tests could also be done on cadavers, but they may not be available in the numbers required. And testing makeup on corpses is a little morbid (though apparently killing pets isn’t).

So, what can we do?

Animal testing is an outdated and barbaric practice, on the decline thanks to activists and alternative scientists. We all have a part to play, and we can start by boycotting businesses that hurt animals every day, instead of petition the dozens of independent, cruelty-free businesses. Below is a list of brands that do not harm animals. Please reference it; if you are unsure if your product tests on animals or not, look it up or check the packaging. If there isn’t a cute “cruelty-free” bunny, that product was tested on animals.

Sign this petition to end animal testing!

A few brands that never test on animals:

Anastasia Beverly Hills

Aromi

bareMinerals

Beautyblender

Becca

butter LONDON

Chi Chi Cosmetics

Coloured Raine

Dermablend

Edward Bess

Em Cosmetics

Emani

Face Atelier

Furless

Glossier

Grande Cosmetics

Illamasqua

Jeffree Star

KKW Beauty

Kylie Cosmetics

LUSH

Marc Jacobs Beauty

Milk Makeup

Nude By Nature

Tarte

Too Faced

Urban Decay

Wunderbrow

Strike Out,

Writer: Elissa Day

Editors: Faveanny Leyva & Lexi Fernandez

Graphics: Allexandria Clemons

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