Cosmetics
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.
At Dyrenes Alliance, we believe that it is completely unnecessary for animals to be exploited and put through pain, purely for our human pleasure and comfort.
Why is animal testing a problem?
When you buy cosmetics, whether it's foundation, lipstick - or perhaps 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 conscious of this since 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 body and soul through agonizing tests for the benefit of cosmetic products (Jopie, 2023). Guinea pigs and rabbits are subjected to stressful skin and eye tests where chemicals are injected into their eyes, which are not only painful- they can even cause blindness. Rats and dogs are used for what are called acute toxicity tests. This means that they are either force-fed or injected with a chemical into their veins until they die.
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 itself.
88% of the top 50 cosmetics brands in the world, such as L'Oréal, Nivea and Estee Lauder, still test on animals and are therefore not cruelty-free (S. Rose, 2021). As many as 44 out of the 50 cosmetic brands either have their products tested on animals internally or by an external third party. Once these experiments are complete, the animals are typically killed.
Understand animal testing.
Watch this short movie.
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.
The "Save Ralph" short film portrays the harsh life that many laboratory animals go through
Is animal testing good for anything?
From a moral and ethical perspective, we see absolutely no reason to exploit animals purely for beauty. No creature should suffer unnecessarily, and animals should have the right to their own life and freedom. We don't believe 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 human skin reactions.
One study (Forbes, 2018) shows that animal testing can only predict human reaction to cosmetics between 40% to 60%, whereas non-animal testing methods have been shown 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 certificates you can look for when shopping for cosmetics, such as PETA's cruelty-free or Leaping Bunny. If your products are labelled with one of the certificates below, you can be sure that no animals have been tested in the production process
Q: "Now that my products are not tested on animals, can I be sure there are no animal ingredients in the product?"
No, you simply can't. 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 make sure that your products are neither tested on animals nor based on animal-derived ingredients, we recommend that you also look out for a vegan certificate. The two certificates below are among the most commonly used.
To protect yourself from 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 and feeling beings that do not deserve to be caged and tested on solely for human experimentation and pleasure. They shouldn't be subjected to suffering or killed just so we can use a certain lipstick. Especially when non-animal testing methods are even safer.
Want to say no to animal cruelty too? Join the movement