Cosmetic animal testing?

[Sheena]

oh dear.

yeah you don't want to know. it's not putting make up on animals.

and it's getting harder and harder to find non animal tested cosmetic, as a lot of the previously good companies are selling out on their morals in order to expand their companies into china. china requires cosmetics to be tested on animals by law.

as a result, Mac is no longer cruelty free. Urban Decay nearly did the same thing, then realised it would be commercial suicide. so they have sold the company to Loreal instead (who also own the body shop now) Loreal are one of the worst big companies for commissioning animal testing.

it's not true to say all cosmetics are tested on animals. I think people just say this to appease themselves at not bothering to look into where their stuff comes from.

in 2013, legislation is due to come into force in Europe that will mean that any cosmetics that have been tested on animals cannot be sold. (this will mean that companies like Mac will have to choose whether to lose the European or the Chinese market, as they won't be able to keep both)

however, despite having had ten years to prepare for this legislation, many of the large cosmetics companies are campaigning for a 20 year extension before this comes in. this is why this website was set up, with a petition (I think you can still sign it) NOT to grant an extension before the legislation becomes enforceable.
http://www.fightinganimaltesting.com/

there's a facebook page for the campaign too.
http://www.facebook.com/FightingAnimalTesting

rabbits are used because they can't flush debris or irritants out of their eyes, so with their eyes held open with a clamp, any irritants placed in the eyes can be left to do so. the animals body is held in a tight frame so they don't move or struggle. many of the rabbits break their own backs trying to get away from the pain.
there's also the LD50 test, where massive doses of a chemical are given to a batch of animals until the dose is large enough to kill half of them.
there are also tests where things are introduced into a pregnant animals reproductive system.

the details will be out there. but honestly I do not advise you to look into it too deeply. it's horrible, uneccessary, and many of the tests are completely illogical.
there's no need for it. many companies get by just fine without using tested ingredients, or testing the final product on animals.

please research cosmetic companies policies very carefully. some may say that they are not tested on animals, but the raw ingredients can still be. or you have things like the Body Shop, where it says it's "against animal testing" but this is meaningless. their profits go to a mother company that funds animal testing on a massive scale.

I work for Lush, so I know our policy inside out.
products are not tested on animals
ingredients are not tested on animals
ingredients are not purchased from suppliers that test ANY of their product on animals or fund animal testing, even if it's something other than what we are buying.
Lush do not operate a fixed or rolling cut off date, which is why some lists exclude them. the reason for this is to provide an incentive to potential suppliers to stop it. if as a company we were to say, as you tested after this date, we can't buy from you, that doesn't stop them doing it. if you say, if you stop TOMORROW, we can use you as a supplier immediately. THAT gives incentive.
Lush actively campaign against cosmetic testing on animals, raise awareness and fund work towards alternatives.

please be very demanding towards the companies you buy from that they are transparent about their policies.