It's Time to Walk the Talk
I started typing this into my Morgue Drawer post but it ended up a lot longer than I anticipated. Hence it has found its way to this blog so I can ramble for several pages.
This is a good place to let you guys in on a recent thought process/put into practice action that's been on my mind lately. Since I've become obsessed with makeup and skin care and all that jazz, I haven't been keen on knowing much about the companies behind the products I use. And as I'm always bitching about people who abuse animals, I thought if the stuff I'm buying is tested on animals then that makes me a wee bit of a hypocrite. What The Fuck, right? So I decided to start incorporating products into my daily routine that are cruelty free.
Now, I'm not going to go through all my crap and just throw out a bunch of stuff. That's wasteful (another problem I have from time to time). So as I use stuff up, or it dries out or whatever, if it's from a company that tests on animals I will NOT purchase it or any other product from said company again.
This will not be an overnight process. First because I need to use up the crap I already own. But second, I can't be certain that there will be cruelty-free options for EVERYTHING I use. They may actually exist but there's no guarantee they will work on me. I'm a delicate fucking flower and my skin can swirl down a shit spiral pretty fast sometimes. And I'm fairly certain any deodorant that's cruelty free are those 'natural' ones and those don't do fuck all (again, for ME).
Then there are the 'grey' areas. Lots of brands don't test on animals but their PARENT companies do. For example, Urban Decay and NYX don't test but L'Oreal, who owns them, does. Some folks are of the mind set that ANY company owned by L'Oreal should not be patronized. But the other school of thought, which I like, is that by purchasing products from NYX but not Maybelline, we're sending a message to L'Oreal that says, "Hey, look, we'll buy from the cruelty free brand you own but not that other one because animal testing is TOTAL BULLSHIT."
Another one I'm struggling with are my beauty subscription boxes. Not all of the products in those are cruelty free. But at the same time, I've discovered a lot of brands that are simply because they were in those services. Before I subscribed, I never would have thought to look for them. So for the time being, I'm keeping them but I know there are cruelty free subscription services out there (mostly vegan but that, by default, is cruelty free) and I may end up switching everything over to those.
The other grey area involves China. They recently stated that they no longer test on animals. Buuuutttt....that's not entirely true. It's no longer required for domestic products but most companies in country do it anyway. What does that have to do with the US? Well, any product imported by China IS REQUIRED BY LAW to be tested on animals. So when any country sells their stuff to China, they are basically endorsing animal cruelty. Many companies say "we don't test on animals unless stipulated by law". Well guess what? It IS STIPULATED in China. That's why it broke my heart to hear that Bath and Body Works sells their products there. They don't test their stuff in the US but they're obviously okay with China doing it.
*le sigh*
This will be an on-going research project, probably in perpetuity. I've found several websites that list A SHIT TON of companies that do and don't test on animals, along with vegan and organic stuff, too. I will post those links below in case you want to check them out (they do include companies that make household goods as well - another aspect I'm trying to incorporate into the cruelty free, good for the environment way of life). A lot of indy brands aren't listed on these sites because they're not as well known (i.e. Makeup Geek and Colourpop). Or in some cases the information provided, from mostly larger companies, is misleading or filled with double speak. Sometimes they even lie (the HELL you say!). It's a tricky tight rope to walk but I'm gonna give it the old college try.
This is not me preaching. I'm not saying that you must follow suit! To each his own. This is just something I need to do for me. It's been quite an eye opener to discover how many brands I already own that are cruelty free! Keep your eyeballs peeled for some single product reviews on these.
Anyway...I'll probably start marking the brands that do still test on animals in my reviews and beauty posts. Or maybe the ones that don't. Just for information purposes, not to get all preachy and judgmental.
End rant. Thanks for listening!
PETA (even though I think they're batshit crazy, they do have a solid comprehensive list)