Cruelty-free beauty online
If you caught Lucy Siegle's Observer article 'How big is your cruelty footprint' this weekend, you'll have been reminded of the importance (and complexity) of choosing animal friendly cosmetics once again. It's easy to lose faith in cruelty-free makeup when articles like this expose the tricks that many companies play to make us think we're doing the right thing; Siegle mentions outsourcing animal testing of any new ingredients on animals in Europe and elsewhere, and confusing labelling of products as two potential pitfalls in finding ethical cosmetics. So how can you be sure that no animals were harmed in the making of your mascara?
Related posts: The Little Book of Cruelty Free from BUAV.
Fortunately, there's a comprehensive list of companies that do not test on animal at any stage of production right here on the interweb. It was compiled by the main authority on cosmetic cruelty, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV). In my opionin, the list is depressingly short, but it does include a few surprises, including Urban Decay, Hard Candy and Paul Mitchell hair products - none of which have ever made much of a song-and-dance about being bunny friendly. All products approved by BUAV carry the bunny logo, so please do look out for it while shopping for slap.
