Why You Should be Buying Cruelty-Free Cosmetics

The biggest reason why you should buy cruelty-free cosmetics?

Because cruelty is not beautiful. But compassion is. Easy as that.

Would you really want to buy a beauty product that was tested on animals? 

If you haven’t already, it’s time to go cruelty-free.

When you buy cruelty-free cosmetics, you can be sure they were developed without animal testing, and that they do not contain any ingredients tested on animals. 

But does a cruelty-free label mean a product is also vegan? 

Not necessarily! Unfortunately, a product not tested on animals may still contain animal products.

Some of the animal-derived ingredients used in cosmetics and beauty products include: honey, beeswax, gelatin, lanolin (a waxy substance from sheep wool), shellac (bug secretions), squalene (shark liver oil), carmine (a red dye from crushed insects), ambergris (whale vomit), sheep placenta, tallow (meat fat), and goat’s milk.

How’s that for a shopping list?

Cosmetics containing any of these ingredients cannot be considered to be cruelty-free… But definitions of a cruelty-free product are not standardized…

So when buying cruelty-free cosmetics, make sure they’re labelled vegan too!

How can you check if a beauty brand or cosmetics company tests on animals or not?

PETA has a handy searchable database of cosmetics companies with information on whether they test on animals. Check it out before you buy!

Here are a few good reasons why you should only buy cruelty-free cosmetics and beauty products (that are also vegan of course!):

To prevent animal suffering

We won’t go into the gory details here, but we’ll just briefly mention that animal testing involves putting the chemicals used in cosmetics into the eyes and throats, and onto the skin of animals. It’s not only lab mice and rats that are subjected to this cruel treatment. Rabbits, monkeys, cats, and dogs are also tortured, dissected and ultimately killed for the testing of cosmetics. 

Do we really need to torture and kill animals for our beauty products? No, we don’t. 

Because there are alternatives to animal testing

There are other methods that can be used to test cosmetic products, without needing to torture animals in the process. 

There are over 40 approved in vitro methods that can be used in laboratory research to test the safety of a product. There are also computer-based models to check the potential toxicity of an ingredient by examining its chemical properties. Also, by using the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) approach, scientists can work out the level below which an ingredient can be considered harmless.

Test tubes, not lab cats and dogs! There’s no need to harm our furry friends!

To avoid harmful chemicals

When you buy cruelty-free, you know that you’re choosing products that don’t contain harsh chemical ingredients, such as sulfates, parabens, and synthetic dyes. The list of harmful chemicals in cosmetics and beauty products is long… learn more about chemicals of concern on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website.

Since cruelty-free cosmetics and beauty products don’t contain toxic substances, they’re safe for all skin types. By going cruelty-free, you’ll steer clear from possible allergic reactions, breakouts, inflammation or other side effects you’d rather avoid.

Did you know that there are over 7,000 known ingredients used in the cosmetic industry that have already been proven to be safe?

To make a statement

Buying cruelty-free is a statement… a compassionate statement that animal testing is unethical and that you refuse to support cruelty.

When you buy from companies that don’t test on animals and only use vegan ingredients, you’re supporting the movement towards a cruelty-free world.

Animal testing for cosmetic products has been completely banned in the European Union since 2013, and 40 countries have also discontinued this cruel and unnecessary practice. 

In the United States, legislation to ban animal testing for cosmetics is still in progress, but at the state-level, California, Illinois, and Nevada have passed laws prohibiting it.

Cruelty-free also means eco-friendly

The toxic chemicals in products that are tested on animals are not only harmful for lab animals and ourselves as consumers, but also the environment. The manufacture of these cosmetic products release harmful toxins into our air, polluting the environment. 

Did you know that laboratories using animal testing create up to 12 tons of waste a year? Yes, this includes the bodies of dead animals.

When you choose vegan and cruelty-free, you also choose less carbon emissions and waste. 

Wondering where you can buy vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics and beauty products near you? Check out vKind’s Beauty and Skin Care listings!