One Hundred Ninety: Animal Testing and Cruelty-Free Beauty

I think most of us are aware of the cruel animal testing that has been around since the 70s. Here is a little history. In 1962 the Kefauver-Harris act passed to mandate animal testing for drugs. There is no requirement for animal testing on household products or cosmetics, but the passing of this act made it commonplace. In reality, cosmetic and household items simply need to be “adequately tested for safety.” So why do we test on animals? The only reason I can think of: because we can.

We are not talking about putting lipstick on rabbits or mascara on a monkey. We are talking about so much worse, but I won't get into the gruesome details. Because this post is about what you can do to help stop the testing... don't buy products that are tested on animals or contain animal ingredients.

Look for the the bunny with the pink ears for cruelty-free products. The leaping bunny logo indicates that there was no animal testing of the product or the ingredients, but there could still be animal by-products. There is another symbol that certifies products as vegan, and then one for no animal testing. Keep in mind that these symbols are not on all products that are vegan, it will take time to get there.