Recently there was a big buzz in the make up world, as the brand Estee Lauder was kicked out from Peta's good list into the bad one. That means that the brand, which for two decades was considered as "cruelty free", is now testing on animals.
As a vegan and an animal rights activist who happens to be a make up artist, it shook me like it did to the rest of the animal and make up lovers around the world, and made me go search for answers.
Estee Lauder's declaration of the matter was already published many times since, so I will not bring it again here (you can read it right here if you want, and Peta's declaration here), but It can be very confusing to the untrained eye, since they specifically state that they do not conduct animal experiments, but as you continue to read further, you see the tricky line: "except when required by law". What law? After all, the EU is banning animal testing, not requiring them.. well, as we can understand from Peta, it is requested in China. Yes- the Chinese law requires all cosmetics to be tested on animals. Therefor, on brands that sell in China they are most likely to be conducting animal testing, even if the products made for Europe or US are not being tested.
In my eyes, there is no place for animal testing whatsoever. So of course, I ban Estee Lauder, as well as every other big brand that sells in China.
To add to that- I don't buy brands that are owned by these companies. Therefor MAC, Clinique, Bobby Brown etc., also got off my buying list.
To add to that- I don't buy brands that are owned by these companies. Therefor MAC, Clinique, Bobby Brown etc., also got off my buying list.
The safest way I found to purchase conscience make up, is to buy from smaller brands that do not sell outside of the EU or the US, and do not belong to a large company that does. A small brand does not mean it's not as good, on the contrary! There are some amazing brands like that, but even with them- the Animal Testing declarations can be very confusing, so this is why I decided to give you a quick guide through the different labels and what each of them really means.
Not Tested On Animals- The most common label. It means that the finished products are not being tested on animals. It does not mean anything though about the materials they receive from other suppliers, that might be tested by third parties. Some of them would also have the tricky line of "except when required by law", which actually state that they might be doing animal testing anyway. May contain animal originated materials.
Cruelty Free- No animal testing were held on the products, nor any of the components, not by the company itself nor by third parties. May contain animal originated materials.
Vegan- No animal testings were held on the products, nor any of the components, not by the company itself nor by third parties. Does not contain any animal originated materials. Many may think that it means natural cosmetics, but it has nothing to do with natural and can be as chemical as the rest. This label only states that the brand is 100% conscience, and is the safest one to use for animal lovers.
Another criteria I take under consideration when I go to buy my make up, is the brushes. The company may be Cruelty Free, but then again sell brushes from Sable hair, which would make me ban them as well. To declare the level of Brush-Cruelty, here is another short guide.
Natural Hair From The Fur Industry- Sable hair, Squirrel hair, and the rest of the small animals brush hair, unfortunately almost always comes from the fur industry's leftovers. Therefor- when you're buying a Sable brush, you are supporting the horrors of skinning the animal alive. Many companies may tell you a nice story about the happy animals living in a special farm and just getting a haircut now and then. Please check these stories out- many of them are fake. Actually, if you'd tell that story to a brush manufacture, they would most likely just laugh in your face.
Extremely Cheap Natural Hair- Natural hair brushes cannot be too cheap. If the price is suspicious- smell the brush. Usually it would smell like a dog and the reason for that would be that it probably is from a dog or a cat. In China it's cheaper to get dogs or cats hair than to make synthetic one! So please think of the poor puppy being skinned alive before buying that natural-hair-1-Euro-brush.
Extremely Cheap Natural Hair- Natural hair brushes cannot be too cheap. If the price is suspicious- smell the brush. Usually it would smell like a dog and the reason for that would be that it probably is from a dog or a cat. In China it's cheaper to get dogs or cats hair than to make synthetic one! So please think of the poor puppy being skinned alive before buying that natural-hair-1-Euro-brush.
Natural Hair Without Kill- Most of the natural brushes are made from horse or goat hair. The horses and the goats are not being killed, but yet again- you can never know in which conditions are they being raised.
Synthetic Brushes- Today there are so many great brushes with Synthetic bristles, that there is just no reason to use the natural ones anymore. I know that in make up schools they always scare the students to believe that only Natural hair is good, but frankly- that is bullshit!
How can you know what is the company's stand about Animal Testings and Cruelty?
Very simple- check out their website!
First of all check the list of countries to see that they do not sell in China.
Then search for the Animal Testing declaration, which they have to publish.
Here are some Cruelty Free and Vegan brands' declarations, taken from their official websites:
Kiko- (in Italian) "Non effettua né commissiona test sugli animali, secondo quanto previsto dalla relativa normativa europea.
*Google Translation: "Does not nor commissioned tests on animals, as provided by the relevant European legislation.
How can you know what is the company's stand about Animal Testings and Cruelty?
Very simple- check out their website!
First of all check the list of countries to see that they do not sell in China.
Then search for the Animal Testing declaration, which they have to publish.
Here are some Cruelty Free and Vegan brands' declarations, taken from their official websites:
Kiko- (in Italian) "Non effettua né commissiona test sugli animali, secondo quanto previsto dalla relativa normativa europea.
Una garanzia che riguarda non solo i prodotti finiti, ma anche le materie prime di ultima generazione testate dal 2004 in poi. La normativa europea sui prodotti cosmetici vieta infatti dal 2004 i test su animali dei prodotti finiti, una pratica dismessa dall'industria cosmetica oltre 15 anni prima dell'entrata in vigore della legge. L' 11 marzo 2009 è inoltre entrato in vigore il divieto di commercializzare, sul territorio dell'UE, i non solo i cosmetici la cui formulazione finale è stata oggetto di sperimentazione animale, ma anche prodotti che contengono ingredienti testati su animali al di fuori dell'Europa comunitaria.
Nel marzo 2013 subentrerà il divieto di commercializzazione di prodotti cosmetici contenenti ingredienti testati per particolari studi di tossicità (tossicità da uso ripetuto,tossicità riproduttiva e tossicocinetica) su sostanze da utilizzare per scopi cosmetici.
KIKO si impegna a seguire i progressi dell'industria cosmetica italiana ed europea nella ricerca di sperimentazioni sostitutive ai test tossicologici sugli animali che tutelino la sicurezza dei consumatori."
A guarantee that covers not only finished products but also raw materials of last generation tested from 2004 onwards. The European legislation on cosmetic products since 2004 prohibits animal testing of finished products, a practice abandoned by the cosmetic industry for over 15 years before the entry into force of the law. The 'March 11, 2009 also entered into force on the ban on the sale, the entire EU, not just cosmetics, the final formulation has been subject to animal testing, but also products that contain ingredients tested on animals outside the'European Community.In March 2013 will take over the marketing ban of cosmetic products containingingredients tested for specific toxicity studies (repeated-dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity and toxicokinetics) of substances to be used for cosmetic purposes.
KIKO is committed to following the progress of the cosmetics industry in the Italian and European research trials to substitute animal toxicological tests that protect consumer safety."
Gosh- "...We do not carry out animal testing whatsoever, nor do we commission others to do so, either in Denmark or anywhere else in the world. We are totally against animal testing of our finished products."
"The majority of our products do not contain any animal derived ingredients. Some of our products do contain Beeswax, Lanolin or Lanolin derivatives and Cholesterol."
Lime Crime- "We are animal lovers and would never allow animal testing! Lime Crime cosmetics are certified cruelty-free and never tested on animals, ever."
"Most of our products are formulated without any animal-derived ingredients and are therefore suitable for vegans. Eyeshadow Helper does contain beeswax, making it our only non-vegan product. As a company who promotes kindness and compassion towards animals, we strive to continue developing vegan-friendly cosmetics so that everyone can feel beautiful!"
Illamasqua- "We are proud to announce that Illamasqua and the third parties we work with do not conduct or commission animal testing on our products, or the ingredients used in these products. Additionally, our range of make-up brushes are made entirely out of synthetic hair."
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics- "In a time when many cosmetic companies make the claim that their products are "Cruelty Free" simply because Animal Testing has become unfashionable and less cost-effective, OCC felt it was necessary to raise the bar on this issue. We pledge never to use animal-derived ingredients (including Lanolin, Beeswax, Carmine and more) in our products and accessories. Beyond any personal convictions, we simply believe that it's unnecessary, especially when there are alternatives that are just as readily available, and equally effective in the formulation of our products. Further, you need not necessarily be aligned with animal rights issues to reap the benefits of a vegan cosmetic line: animal ingredients can be amongst the most allergenic and skin reactive, and prevent makeup from being considered Kosher, Halal or otherwise compliant with various dietary (and sanitary!) regulations."
Not sure about the company's declaration? You can always write them an email and ask!
Here are examples of the answers I got by email:
Essence- The Brand is very much against Animal Testing and labeled as "Cruelty Free". However, I thought that all of the brushes were synthetic as well and sent them an inquiry about it. This was their reply: "Thanks for your message and your interest in our products.
Flormar- The British website simply states "Not Tested On Animals" without any further explanation, the official Turkish website has absolutely no declaration of the matter, so I asked to know what is their exact policy regarding animal testing. This was their answer: "We do not use any Animal Tests for our final product evaluations. Physical, chemical and microbiological tests are as always done for our final products.
So you see? There are plenty of brands to choose from! Personally, I prefer to buy only the complete Vegan products, but if there happen to be a product that I miss, then I would buy it from the Cruelty Free brands.
I hope that this could be of use to you and help you buy cosmetics in a smarter, more conscience way from now on. There is no reason to keep abusing defenseless animals for beauty in the 21st century, nor supporting companies who does that. If we all would just stop buying from companies like Estee Lauder and Loreal, and start buying from Vegan brands like OCC, then those companies would have no other choice then to stop the abuse!
KIKO is committed to following the progress of the cosmetics industry in the Italian and European research trials to substitute animal toxicological tests that protect consumer safety."
Gosh- "...We do not carry out animal testing whatsoever, nor do we commission others to do so, either in Denmark or anywhere else in the world. We are totally against animal testing of our finished products."
"The majority of our products do not contain any animal derived ingredients. Some of our products do contain Beeswax, Lanolin or Lanolin derivatives and Cholesterol."
Lime Crime- "We are animal lovers and would never allow animal testing! Lime Crime cosmetics are certified cruelty-free and never tested on animals, ever."
"Most of our products are formulated without any animal-derived ingredients and are therefore suitable for vegans. Eyeshadow Helper does contain beeswax, making it our only non-vegan product. As a company who promotes kindness and compassion towards animals, we strive to continue developing vegan-friendly cosmetics so that everyone can feel beautiful!"
Illamasqua- "We are proud to announce that Illamasqua and the third parties we work with do not conduct or commission animal testing on our products, or the ingredients used in these products. Additionally, our range of make-up brushes are made entirely out of synthetic hair."
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics- "In a time when many cosmetic companies make the claim that their products are "Cruelty Free" simply because Animal Testing has become unfashionable and less cost-effective, OCC felt it was necessary to raise the bar on this issue. We pledge never to use animal-derived ingredients (including Lanolin, Beeswax, Carmine and more) in our products and accessories. Beyond any personal convictions, we simply believe that it's unnecessary, especially when there are alternatives that are just as readily available, and equally effective in the formulation of our products. Further, you need not necessarily be aligned with animal rights issues to reap the benefits of a vegan cosmetic line: animal ingredients can be amongst the most allergenic and skin reactive, and prevent makeup from being considered Kosher, Halal or otherwise compliant with various dietary (and sanitary!) regulations."
Not sure about the company's declaration? You can always write them an email and ask!
Here are examples of the answers I got by email:
Essence- The Brand is very much against Animal Testing and labeled as "Cruelty Free". However, I thought that all of the brushes were synthetic as well and sent them an inquiry about it. This was their reply: "Thanks for your message and your interest in our products.
The essence smokey eyes brush is made of animal hair. We do not accomplish any animal testing but our products are not vegan. That means that ingredients of animal origin could be used in our products."
When I asked for more precise information, I got this reply: "The essence smokey eye brush is made of horse hair.
For the production of our cosmetic products we use beeswax, silk or lanolin for example, which belong to the group of animal ingredients.
From this point of view we don’t advise our products as appropriated for vegans."
Flormar- The British website simply states "Not Tested On Animals" without any further explanation, the official Turkish website has absolutely no declaration of the matter, so I asked to know what is their exact policy regarding animal testing. This was their answer: "We do not use any Animal Tests for our final product evaluations. Physical, chemical and microbiological tests are as always done for our final products.
We do not use Animal originated raw materials in our manufacturing process,too."
So you see? There are plenty of brands to choose from! Personally, I prefer to buy only the complete Vegan products, but if there happen to be a product that I miss, then I would buy it from the Cruelty Free brands.
I hope that this could be of use to you and help you buy cosmetics in a smarter, more conscience way from now on. There is no reason to keep abusing defenseless animals for beauty in the 21st century, nor supporting companies who does that. If we all would just stop buying from companies like Estee Lauder and Loreal, and start buying from Vegan brands like OCC, then those companies would have no other choice then to stop the abuse!
