What Are Cruelty-Free Products

The term â€Å"cruelty-free product† is generally understood within the animal rights movement as a product that has not been tested on animals by the manufacturer. While you may not have a special affinity for rats, guinea pigs or even rabbits, its important for you to know that dogs, cats, and primates are all used in laboratory testing, and the tests are inhumane. Several mainstream companies, such as Bon Ami and Clientele, have been cruelty-free for years. Unfortunately, three of the largest cruelty-free companies, Avon, Mary Kay and Estee Lauder, recently resumed animal testing in order to satisfy legal requirements in China, so that they could sell their products in China. Revlon, which was one of the first large mainstream companies to go cruelty-free, is now selling in China but will not answer questions about their animal testing policy. Because of their refusal to answer questions, Revlon is now on the cruel list. For companies with such good reputations; and who have generated such goodwill by first renouncing animal testing to hide behind the excuse that the Chinese government requires some testing is ludicrous. The obvious step for them is to stop selling in China until China catches up with the 21st century. The tests conducted on animals for cosmetic purposes are redundant and can now be easily replaced with in-vitro testing.   In the United States, federal law requires drugs to be tested on animals, but no law requires cosmetics or household products to be tested on animals unless they contain new chemicals. With so many substances that are already known to be safe, cruelty-free companies can continue to offer new, quality products year after year without testing on animals. Gray Areas One of the gray areas is when the individual ingredients might have been tested on animals by a supplier to the manufacturer. Some animal rights activists seek to support companies that do not purchase ingredients from suppliers who test on animals. Another tricky issue is when a cruelty-free company is owned or acquired by a parent company that tests on animals. For example, The Body Shop is cruelty-free but was acquired by L’Oreal in 2006. Although The Body Shop still does not test its products on animals, L’Oreal continues to conduct animal testing. this leaves fans and patrons of The Body Shop with a dilemma.   Cruelty-Free v. Vegan Just because a product is labeled â€Å"cruelty-free† does not necessarily mean that it is vegan. A product that has not been tested on animals may still contain animal ingredients, rendering it non-vegan. Companies like Origins and Urban Decay are cruelty-free and carry both vegan and non-vegan products. The Urban Decay website has a page with vegan products, and if you visit an Origins store, their vegan products are labeled. Completely vegan, cruelty-free companies include Moo Shoes,  Method, Beauty Without Cruelty, Zuzu Luxe, and Crazy Rumors. Companies v. Products It is important to distinguish between whether a specific company tests on animals and whether a specific ingredient or product has ever been tested on animals. To expect that an ingredient has never been tested on animals is unrealistic because centuries of animal experimentation mean that almost every substance, even those that are natural and generally considered safe, has been tested on animals at some point in history. Instead of focusing on whether an ingredient or product has ever been tested on animals, ask whether the company or the supplier currently conducts animal testing. Where to Buy Cruelty-Free Products Some vegan, cruelty-free products, like Method, can be purchased at Costco, Target or mainstream supermarkets. PETA maintains a list of companies that do or do not test on animals, and their list of companies that don’t test on animals has a letter â€Å"V† next to the companies that are also vegan. You can also find vegan, cruelty-free products online at stores like Pangea, Vegan Essentials, or Food Fight. New companies, more enlightened than past counterparts, are cropping up every day so if you are shopping online, do a search using the words cruelty-free, vegan, not-tested-on-animals or contains no animal products often so you dont miss out on new products.   Updated  by  Michelle A. Rivera