Luiza Ionescu's blog - Ladylike: Big Dissapointment

So this semester at the uni we have to run a little research on a topic of our choice. Because we are a group of 5 girls, we decided the theme should have something to do with cosmetics (no surprise there), so we finally decided to do the research on whether consumers care if the makeup products they purchase are tested on animals. Of course that the first step was to actually find out which companies test or don't test on animals. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the list of the companies that do test on animals and found all my favorite brands in there. Some examples:

Estée Lauder. That includes Bobbi Brown, MAC, Clinique, Origins.
Avon
L'Oreal. That includes Biotherm, Garnier, Lancome, LaRoche Posay, Maybelline, Vichy
Elizabeth Arden
L'Occitane
Revlon
Yves Rocher

The complete list can be found here. The most disturbing fact is that some companies, such as L'Occitane, Yves Rocher were against animal testing until they started selling their products to China where animal experiments are mandatory. Their explanation? They want their products to be enjoyed by the 700 million women in China. Apparently they don't care that they put profits above their principles. Although I was surprised to find out so many famous companies still test on animals, I can't say that I will never ever purchase any of their products again, I will continue to buy the products I love, but I am very disappointed in these brands that changed their way of thinking over night. This kind of actions say a lot about a company. If you go on any of these cosmetics websites and look at their values and mission, you would say they only care about the environment and the customer and they are only milk and honey. Too bad that in reality only profits seem to matter. You can read more about this here and here.

On the other hand, here is a good example of a company that sticks to its beliefs. Paul Mitchell Systems actually retired of China after being informed that the company would have to pay for animal tests in order to continue selling products there. Urban Decay has also made the same decision.

There are also a lot of companies that do not test on animals and some of my favorite are:

Dermalogica

E.L.F Cosmetics

LUSH

The Body Shop

Yesterday I purchased 2 eos lipbalms (the strawberry sorbet and the sweet mint) and for the first time I checked the packaging more carefully, not just to see the ingredients but also to see if it is cruelty free. It is!

(picture from FirstNews)