*some details of this blog are hard to read in reference to animal cruelty*
[The photo above shows this pup's tattooed patient number]
For the last few years, I have been making adjustments to my beauty collection (and a few cleaning products too) to make them cruelty-free, meaning no animals were tested on.
This isn't a virtue-signaling post, but merely one that I hope will be helpful if you are considering making a switch and don't really know where to begin. For me, it started with a lot of my own research, carefully looking at labels in stores, and downloading the app Cruelty Cutter. I am not a vegan nor vegetarian, but I feel significantly more comfortable with my existence doing this little change and starting small. My beauty collection is not 100% cruelty-free yet but almost. The catalyst for this shift was Milo.
Milo is part-beagle (4o-something percent according to his recent DNA test). I knew he had beagle when I got him so I did some research on the breed because I had no idea what to expect. Spoiler alert: high energy, loud, super friendly, and always happy. As I was researching, I found that beagles are the most tested-upon dog by the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, as well as university labs. Here comes the ugly truths and they are disturbing:
Beagles are force-fed or injected with potential poisons to test toxicity.
The top offending countries are the USA, China, Japan, and Australia.
96% of drugs that pass animal tests fail in human subjects.
Beagles are chosen because they are so friendly and trusting and, therefore, are easy to manipulate and harm.
The beagles are often killed or "disposed" of after their testing and in places like China they are sent to the dog meat trade.
Additional dogs, as well as beagles, are also used as hourly blood banks and literally drained of life before they are killed.
Rescued beagles often have nightmares and scream in their sleep. They suffer mental and physical consequences.
As awful as these facts are, organizations such as Beagle Freedom Project do the best work at the charitable and legislative levels to curb these atrocities. Additionally, as I have mentioned, we can do our part too and purchase products that are cruelty-free and use our voices to speak up about this issue. In 2021, when we KNOW animal trials are not effective markers of human safety, we should not be doing this.
I am a big fan of Pacifica for their products. They smell wonderful and are completely cruelty-free. A couple of their products like their rosemary scalp serum also have 100% safety rating in terms of chemicals too. E.L.F is also cruelty-free and affordable! Burt's Bees is cruelty-free, as is Aveda, but (as Cruelty Cutter shows), they are a subsidiary of a parent company that does test on animals so double check those things and weigh up how you feel. Bath and Body Works is cruelty-free from what I've seen too. They have the little bunny logo on their products -- another way you can see if it is cruelty-free.
Like I said, I am not 100% there yet but I am close. I find it gives me peace of mind to know that something I use every day is not hurting a pup that looks like my best friend. Knowing Milo, I know exactly why he would be chosen. He trusts me implicitly and we use that gift to harm these dogs. I have learned so much from Beagle Freedom Project and I try and support them when I can. I find that I love "donating" in terms of purchasing their merchandise. That way, I am donating but I can also rep their organization so it works well on either end! They also send a lovely, albeit sad, packet of information on what they do and why and a cute little sticker for your laptop, notebook, or car.
If you have any favorite cruelty-free brands, particularly in makeup, please let me know. That's my lacking area.
Sending much love to our beagle friends, bunny friends, and so many other animals suffering now from our incessant need to cause harm. I am so hopeful we can eradicate this heinous practice soon. We just need to speak louder.
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