Save Face: Buy Cruelty-Free Cosmetics and Cleaners

Although we’re well into a new millennium, some cosmetics and household-product companies, such as Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal, and Johnson & Johnson, remain in the Dark Ages, performing cruel and crude tests on animals.

One such test, the painful Draize eye irritancy test, involves placing substances into the eyes of restrained rabbits, then recording the eye’s progressive deterioration. Some also use the lethal dose test, forcing substances such as oven cleaner or nail polish down animals’ throats, pumping it into their stomachs through a tube, or injecting it into their bodies, until a percentage of the animals die. No law requires that mascara, shampoo, or laundry detergent be tested on animals. Furthermore, animal tests do not keep harmful products off the market. Some companies blind and poison animals in an effort to protect themselves from consumer lawsuits, but there are better testing methods—non-animal tests that are cheaper, faster, and more reliable for assuring human safety.

You Can Help!
Hundreds of companies, including Method Products, Tom’s of Maine, Kiss My Face, and Aveda, have never used cruel animal tests, and others, like Revlon and Avon, abandoned these archaic tests years ago in response to consumer demand.

Hit the beauty-aid and household-cleaner aisles and you will find lipsticks, eye shadows, and laundry detergents that are cruelty-free. Buying only products that aren’t tested on animals is an easy way to help stop the senseless killing of rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, and other animals in product testing.

PETA’s handy Cruelty-Free Pocket Shopping Guide—which is included in the Animal Savings Club Member Pack—will help you choose cruelty-free products while you are shopping. For more detailed information, order PETA’s 2006 Shopping Guide for Caring Consumers or visit CaringConsumer.com.