Monday 10 December 2012

Save the Rabbits!

Every once in a while I get a bee in my bonnet about something or other, which results in me obsessing about that something until I finally acheive/purchase/kill it. Like the time I decided I wanted a cat. I spent several weeks fawning over every cute cat on the RSPCA website and wore Josh down to the point where he let me get one just to shut me up.


My latest buzzing obsession is cruelty-free makeup. It may seem pretty stupid but I never really thought about this issue until last week. In the same way that I have no moral objection to eating meat but DO have a major problem with killing animals for sport, I believe that it is justifiable to test vaccines and potential therapeutic drugs (in the most humane way possible) on animals but NOT cosmetics because their only purpose is to make us (look/feel) pretty. Feel free to argue with me about this but this is my stance and I'm sticking to it.

Fresh off the back of my (smugly) improved moral standing on this issue, I did a thorough internet search on  companies that tested on animals, with the fervent hope that my favourite brands were innocent of such practices.

Alas!

Much to my horror, Clinique and Revlon were right at the top of the list. I've only recently jumped on to the Clinique bandwagon (mainly because of my obsession with Chubby Sticks) but I have been using the same Revlon foundation for 7-8 years and had no intention of changing... until now!

You can find a comprehensive list of companies that test on animals here, a list of cruelty-free companies here and a great list of Australian cruelty-free companies here. Please note that although some subsidiaries of large companies do NOT test on animals, the fact that their parent companies still do makes them qualify for the list. PETA updates their lists twice a year so it might also be worth visiting their site, too. I didn't link them because I have my own issues with PETA's practises eg. using donated money to buy shares in cosmetics companies for the purposes of "research". Seriously. Fucked. Up.

One of the main reasons that major cosmetics/skincare companies still test on animals is because one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) market for these products in the world is China, and laws there state that ALL products for human use must be tested on animals first. The main offenders are:

L'Oreal Group
Biotherm
Cacharel
Clarisonic
Diesel
Essie
Garnier
Giorgio Armani
Kérastase
Kiehl's
Lancôme
Matrix
Maybelline
Mizani
PureOlogy
Ralph Lauren
Redken
Roger & Gallet
Shu Uemura
Skinceuticals
Stella McCartney
Viktor & Rolf
Yves Saint Laurent

Procter & Gamble
Braun
Clairol
Covergirl
Dolce & Gabbana colognes
Escada fragrance
Frederik Fekkai
Fusion
Gillette
Gucci colognes
Head & Shoulders
Herbal Essences
Hugo Boss colognes
Lacoste colognes
Max Factor
Nice n Easy
Olay
Old Spice
Oral-B
Pantene
SK-II
Wella

Unilever
Dove
Lux
Lynx
Radox
Rexona
Simple
St Ives
Sunsilk
Tigi
Thermasilk
Toni & Guy
Tresemme
Vaseline
V05

Please Note: I have ONLY listed the skincare/cosmetics/haircare companies I thought were relevant to Australia. The list of ALL associated brands, including laundry/bathroom/pet care is NEVERENDING. Feel free to look them up for yourself and, if you're anything like me, be horrified by all the stuff you own and use!!

The ones that affect me the most are Revlon (foundation), Garnier (BB cream), Gillette (razors), Tigi (hair product) and Vaseline. But fuck it, they're easily replaceable. And I've done a bit of research on some cheap, quality cosmetics that aren't tested on animals and are either readily available in Australia or easy/cheap to buy on online stores:

NYX - their round lipsticks and nail polish are great and SO cheap.
MILANI - excellent blushes, brow products and eye shadows.
MUA - very cheap eyeshadow palettes, cream blushes, excellent gel eyeliner and coloured mascara.
Jordana - great matte lipstick and glossy lip color.
Beauty UK - pigmented eyeshadows and cheap nail polish.
Mirenesse (not cheap, but really good!) - best mascara in the world!

Please let me know if you have any to add to the list :)

2 comments:

  1. I clicked on your list and can't believe that Kleenex is on it! They're commercials always have cute animals and babies in them... how conivining... I feel ripped off... need to find a new brand for tissues... Thanks for all the info and links!

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    1. Is that you, Dee?

      I was shocked to see so many products that I use in those lists!! I'm using up the rest of the stuff I have and have already started buying only animal friendly products. Don't EVEN get me started on tuna....

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