There are So Many Wonderful Reasons to Use Cruelty Free Skin Care
Animal testing is still a problem today. According to Cruelty Free International, over 115 million animals are being used for animal testing worldwide each year. While many brands are cruelty-free, others have not made the move to do the right thing.
There’s no excuse for companies to test on animals. There are definitely better alternatives to animal testing available and choose their cruelty-free status.
Companies that still test on animals in this day and age choose to. They make the choice to be cruel, and that’s not something any of us are willing to support.
Our Brightening Glycolic & Antioxidant Cleanser is a great way to start yourself on the road to cruelty free skin care, plant derived ingredients, with free shipping in the US.
The History of Animal Testing
Animals have been used repeatedly throughout the history of biomedical research. Early Greek physician-scientists, such as Aristotle, (384 – 322 BC) and Erasistratus, (304 – 258 BC), performed experiments on living animals.
Likewise, Galen (129 – 199 / 217 AD), a Greek physician who practiced in Rome and was a giant in the history of medicine, conducted animal experiments to advance the understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology.
Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), an Arab physician in twelfth century Moorish Spain, introduced animal testing as an experimental method for testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.
In recent years, the practice of using animals for biomedical research has come under severe criticism by animal protection and animal rights groups. Laws have been passed in several countries to make the practice more ‘humane’. Debates on the ethics of animal testing have raged since the seventeenth century.
Theodore Roosevelt in the nineteenth century stated, “Common sense without conscience may lead to crime, but conscience without common sense may lead to folly, which is the handmaiden of crime.”
Switching to cruelty-free products is one of the best ways to say no to animal testing.
In this blog post, I'm sharing with you 10 reasons why and how we all should strive to purchase cruelty-free skin care products and 6 ways to help prevent animal testing.
10 Reasons to Use Cruelty Free Skin Care
1. Animal Testing Is Extremely Cruel
The animals used in experiments are not only confined to small cages and inhumane conditions, but they’re also subjected to tests that are beyond cruel. They’re tortured, maimed, blinded, and ultimately killed. They’re essentially bred to live a life of fear and suffering.
2. There Are Better Alternatives To Animal Testing
Some companies try to say that animal testing serves a purpose: tests are being performed on animals to make sure that ingredients and products are safe enough for humans. The truth is there are alternatives to animal testing for ingredient safety. For example, many companies choose to use in vitro testing, which has many advantages over animal testing. There are also cultured cell tissues as well as computer models.
Science favors these alternatives over animal testing because they’re more conclusive, but animal testing has the advantage of being low-cost. Animals are only used because they’re more “affordable”, which is extremely unethical.
3. There Are Over 7,000 Safe Cosmetic Ingredients
To formulate their products, companies can choose from a list of over 7,000 ingredients that are already proven to be safe. This just proves that they don’t need to test more ingredients on animals. The only companies that choose to test more ingredients on animals do so because they want to come up with new, innovative ingredients to increase their profits.
4. Laboratory Animals Are Animals Too
According to the law, laboratory animals form a special category of animals and aren’t protected from animal abuse and cruelty. This view is completely unethical and nonsensical. We protect pets from abuse, but laboratory bunnies, mice, dogs, cats, and other animals don’t have the same rights. Lab animals are animals too and should be protected from cruel treatment.
Our Brightening Glycolic & Antioxidant Cleanser is a great way to start yourself on the road to cruelty free skin care, plant derived ingredients, with free shipping in the US.
5. Cats And Dogs Are Being Used In Experiments
This wasn’t a typo. Cats and dogs are commonly used in medical animal experiments. Based on statistics from 2013, 67,772 dogs and 24,221 cats were used in animal testing in the United States alone that year. In terms of dog breeds, a shockingly large number of Beagles are used, because of their docile nature. These animals are treated like laboratory animals and are deprived of the basic rights we allow our pets.
6. You Can Actually Make A Difference By “Voting With Your Money”
By supporting cruelty-free companies instead of the ones who choose to test on animals, you’re sending the whole industry a message in the only language they speak: money. They know that they won’t be getting your business unless they stop testing on animals. If enough consumers boycott companies that test on animals, we can truly make a change and influence more companies to go cruelty-free.
7. Thousands Of Great Brands Are Cruelty-Free
There are thousands of cruelty-free brands available today - like ours. Gone are the days when choosing cruelty-free products meant only purchasing patchouli lotion from a small, local shop. We can still support all the great independent businesses, but a lot of mainstream big-name brands have now gone cruelty-free. You’re not really limiting yourself that much by making the switch, since so many great brands are cruelty-free.
8. Many Counties Have Already Banned Animal Testing
Some governments around the world have already banned animal testing for cosmetics on finished products and ingredients. The European Union, Isreal, India, Norway, Switzerland, South Korea, and New Zealand have all banned animal testing. So many governments across the world banning this practice should tell us how harmful and unethical it really is.
9. Many Cruelty-Free Brands Are Budget-Friendly
If you’re looking for budget-friendly options, you can definitely purchase cruelty-free and receive super high quality products.
10. There Are Many Non-Toxic, More Natural Options
Switching to cruelty-free cosmetics opens your eyes to products that are healthier for you. So many mainstream brands are full of harsh or toxic chemicals that do nothing good for your body. Our skin absorbs everything we feed it, and using lotions full of parabens, fragrance, and harmful chemicals isn’t a healthy habit.
6 Ways to Prevent Animal Testing
Why are millions of animals STILL suffering in laboratories? There’s no justifiable reason. Companies do not need to torture animals in order to test mascara, shampoo, detergent, or other household products. Scientists do not have to torment monkeys in order to cure a disease. Educators do not need to buy fetal pigs to teach students physiology.
There are easy ways to lend your voice to animals suffering in experiments, and together we can stop animal testing. Here are six ways you can help them (and if you haven’t already, join PETA’s Action Team to help even more animals!).
1. Always buy cruelty-free products.
Cruelty-free cosmetics and household products abound. If you aren’t sure whether or not your favorite brands drip chemicals into rabbits’ eyes, check out PETA’s comprehensive database. There have been a number of advancements in non-animal research methods, so there’s no excuse for sick and twisted experiments on animals.
2. Educate others.
Don’t leave people in the dark about the horrors of the animal experimentation industry. Knowledge is power, so educate them by sharing PETA’s “Animal Testing in 60 Seconds Flat” video. Brush up on the facts so that if any questions arise, you’ll be the best animal defender you can be.
3. Always speak up about classroom dissection.
If someone you know is asked to cut up an animal in a class, encourage him or her to say NO! Humane, more cost-effective, and superior alternatives are available, and schools everywhere are catching on. If an educator gives him or her a hard time, let us help. We’re pretty good at standing up for animals!
4. Make a donation.
Lots of charities ask for money and say they’re working on a cure for a disease. However, behind the scenes, that money could be contributing to immense suffering. If you have money to give, make certain you only donate to charities that don’t fund or conduct experiments on animals.
5. Leave your body to science.
Speaking of donating, consider leaving your body to science to help scientists, doctors, and medical students advance their research and training without hurting animals. You won’t have any use for it, and wouldn’t it be lovely to know that even after you’re gone, you can still help animals?
Our Brightening Glycolic & Antioxidant Cleanser is a great way to start yourself on the road to cruelty free skin care, plant derived ingredients, with free shipping in the US: