A COMPLETE GUIDE TO GOING CRUELTY-FREE

Happy Friday! Today, I am sharing with you a complete guide to going cruelty-free. In this post, I will share with you what you should know about cruelty-free brands, why you should start supporting them, and my tips for going cruelty-free. I actually started following this lifestyle about 4 years ago but I’ve been fully committed to it since I moved to Canada, in 2018! It’s been a hell of a journey but I am really proud of myself and very happy that I made this decision!

Now, don’t forget to check out my previous post: REVIEW // Rosewater Daily Cleansing Gel by Good Molecules and let’s get into it!

A Complete Guide To Going Cruelty-free

What is a cruelty-free brand?

A cruelty-free brand is when a brand does not allow any animal testing during pre or post-market by neither the brand itself, a supplier, a third party, or when required by law. To be clear, pre or post-market means before the product is made or once the product hits the shelves.

Such a brand cannot sell in China because even though the law on pre-market animal testing has changed, a product risk being pulled out of the market to get tested on. On another hand, a product made in china does not have to test its ingredients on animals so the product can be considered cruelty-free.

There are of course different levels of being cruelty-free. For instance, L’Oréal, a brand that tests on animals, owns the drugstore cruelty-free brand “NYX Cosmetics”. It is your choice to decide whether you want to support them or not. Personally, I don’t mind, as long as these big non-cruelty-free companies realize that being cruelty-free is profitable.

On another hand, it is important to mention that a cruelty-free product does not necessarily mean that it is vegan because it can still contain animal-derived ingredients. If you are interested to read a post about vegan brands/products, then let me know in the comment section below!

Why go cruelty-free?

The truth is that, even now in 2020, a lot of companies still rely on animal-testing to examine their products and to assure that their product is safe to use. However, animal testing has been proven unnecessary and alternative methods to it are available like for instance, 3D reproductions of human skin to test out skin sensitivity. Moreover, several countries like India or the European Union have banned products tested on animals and the process of testing on animals. This shows that animal testing is not necessary, let alone, ethical. The sole reason animal testing still exists is that it’s a cheaper alternative to test products than other methods.

Animal testing doesn’t just show to be unnecessary; it is also extremely outdated and horrible. In fact, the animals used in testing are rats, beagles, bunnies, mice, and guinea pigs. The tests for cosmetics involve rubbing products into the eye and skin, forced feeding, or lethal dose. At the end of each experiment, the animal is killed by either asphyxiation, neck-breaking, or decapitation. Around 200,000 animals suffer and die from animal experiments every year and while actively choosing brands that do not test on animals, you are contributing to the stop of these experiments, helping ban this practice and positively impacting the beauty industry.

How to go cruelty-free

Now, how can you know which brand tests on animals and which one doesn’t? Well, first of all, you can easily find a list of cruelty-free brands on reliable websites like CF Kitty or Leaping Bunny. Second of all, you can easily tell if a brand tests on animals from the cruelty-free logo or from the brand’s website. Now, the term “cruelty-free” is being thrown around a lot and many brands claim they are cruelty-free even though they are not. Moreover, there are a lot of bunny symbols that brands use to certify themselves as cruelty-free but the only two you need to know about are the Leaping Bunny and Choose Cruelty-free ones. These are the only two reliable logos (see image below). Unfortunately, Peta is not a reliable source to know whether a brand commits to being cruelty-free or not so do not go to them for answers!

I know going cruelty-free can be a little bit confusing but here are some tips I want to share with you to make this process easier :

1. Before getting rid of all of the makeup you own, make sure that they are not cruelty-free first. You’d be surprised how many brands don’t test on animals.
2. Make a gradual change. Switch up your products, step by step!
3. Don’t forget your essentials such as toothpaste, shampoos, and deodorant. You can start focusing on makeup first then move on to skincare then body and hair care (depending on what you use the most. Personally, I started making the change with makeup)
4. Don’t rely on “cruelty-free” dupes, they might not perform as well. Choose a different product instead and discover new brands!

List of brands that do not test on animals

Here is a list of some brands I love and would recommend!

Sources

Davidson, E. (2018). Animal testing for cosmetics. Scientista. Retrieved on November 17th, 2020 from http://www.scientistafoundation.com/lifestyle-blog/animal-testing-for-cosmetics

Myth & Facts Leaping Bunny. Leaping Bunny Program. Retrieved on November 17th, 2020 from https://www.leapingbunny.org/content/myths-facts

Suzana, R. (2020). The Effortless Beginner’s Guide To Going Cruelty-Free Forever. CF Kitty. Retrieved on November 17th, 2020 from https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/how-to-go-cruelty-free/

Animal Testing & Cosmetics. US Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved on November 17th, 2020 from https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/product-testing-cosmetics/animal-testing-cosmetics

Rodricks, A. (2013). The “Necessity” of Cosmetic Animal testing. Britannica. Retrieved on November 17th, 2020 from https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-necessity-of-cosmetic-animal-testing

That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you did, don’t forget to give it a ‘like’ and to follow my blog.

xx

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