Cosmetic products
What you should know about animal testing and cosmetics
We humans are willing to compromise on many things in the name of beauty, even testing cosmetics on animals, even if it means animals suffer and ultimately die.
Hos Dyrenes Alliance mener vi, at det er fuldkomment unødvendigt, at dyr skal udnyttes og gennemgå smerte, ene og alene for vores menneskers fornøjelse og komfort.
Why is animal testing a problem?
When you buy cosmetics, whether it's foundation, lipstick - or even skin and hair care products like facial cleansers and shampoos - are you aware of whether they have been tested on animals? You might not be. But there's a good reason to be. Many cosmetics are tested on animals. And no, unfortunately, it's not harmless, but results in suffering, life in captivity and often death.
In particular, mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, fish and dogs have to put their bodies and souls through excruciating tests for cosmetic products (Jopie, 2023). Guinea pigs and rabbits are subjected to stressful skin and eye tests where chemicals are dripped into their eyes, which are not only painful in themselves, but can also blind the animals. Rats and dogs are used for what are called acute toxicity tests, where they are either force-fed or have a chemical injected into their veins.
These tests can last for months and yes, for some animals a lifetime. Pregnant rats, rabbits and dogs are force-fed chemical substances to see if their offspring are born with deformities or even die during pregnancy.
88% of the top 50 cosmetics brands in the world, such as L'Oréal, Nivea and Estee Lauder, still test on animals and are thus not cruelty free (S. Rose, 2021). As many as 44 out of the 50 cosmetics brands either have their products tested on animals internally or by an external third party. When these experiments are complete, the animals are typically killed.
Understand animal testing.
Watch this short film.
The film is from Humane Society International, an NGO that rescues laboratory animals from a life of exploitation and suffering.
Watch it for an honest and, unfortunately, harsh insight into the life of a laboratory animal. It's a heavy but thought-provoking and extremely important movie.
"Save Ralph" short film portrays the harsh life that many laboratory animals go through
Is animal testing of any use?
From a moral and ethical perspective, we see absolutely no reason to exploit animals solely for beauty. No creature should suffer unnecessarily and animals should have the right to their own life and freedom. We do not believe that they should be exploited by humans just so we can use a certain shampoo. From a scientific point of view, the vast majority of tests have no real effect, often failing to predict skin reactions in humans.
A study (Forbes, 2018) shows that tests conducted on animals can only predict human reaction to cosmetics between 40% to 60%, whereas non-animal testing methods are found to be up to 80% effective.
What can we do?
The journey towards less animal testing in the cosmetics industry starts with us, the consumers. There are a number of certifications you can look for when shopping for cosmetics, such as PETA's cruelty-free or Leaping Bunny. If your products are labeled with one of the certificates below, you can be sure that no animal has been tested in the production process
Q: "Now that my products are not tested on animals, can I be sure that there are no animal ingredients in the product?"
No, you simply cannot. The above certificates are only about the production and testing process and have nothing to do with the actual ingredient list. If you want to ensure that your products are neither tested on animals nor based on animal-derived ingredients, we recommend that you also protect yourself with a vegan certificate. The two certificates below are among the most commonly used.
To safeguard against animal testing and animal ingredients in your cosmetics, it's important that your product has both "cruelty free" and "vegan" certification. By keeping this in mind when shopping for cosmetics, you are consciously helping to create a better world for animals. Animals should not be objectified as "guinea pigs"; they are sentient beings who do not deserve to be caged and tested on solely for human experimentation and pleasure. They should not be subjected to suffering or killed just so we can use a certain lipstick. Especially when non-animal testing methods are even safer.
Do you want to say no to animal cruelty too? Become part of the movement