1

Tessa Hammond

Professor Williams

ENG.1201.B61

04 August 2020

Is Animal Testing the Answer to our Cosmetic Research?

Being grounded and forced to stay inside feels restricting and it feels like a violation of

our rights, right? Imagine being forced into a room and a doctor comes in and pokes you with a

few needles, swabs your tongue, checks your ears, and takes samples from you with no context

or reason. This seems abnormal and unusual for us but for animals trapped in labs, it is a daily

routine. Cosmetics, no matter how much we want them, are not a need. They are there to

pamper us up and make us feel good. We all have a right to feel confident. Nobody can be

stopped from buying cosmetic products, but becoming educated on how these products are

established and manufactured matter. Once we learn what extreme measures companies take

and how they treat the animals in their labs we can determine whether we want to trust them

and purchase from these companies. How far companies are willing to go in order to make

good profit are determined by you and your purchases. Cosmetic animal testing should be

limited and restricted with rules and regulations to prevent companies from taking advantages

of animal lives. We have a choice to buy cruelty free products, we have a choice to volunteer

for science while animals do not.

Animal testing and vivisection, the practice of performing operations on live animals for

the purpose of experimentation or scientific research have been two forms of experimentation
 2

that scientist have used for decades, if not centuries. The first animal experiment dates back to

500 BC. This form of testing has thrived and many customers are not happy with it. Animal

testing has been used in the medical field and has helped scientist generate medicines that

saves lives. It has allowed us to create beneficial products we use daily. Drugs that are used in

order to study cancer, Alzheimer's and malaria used animals in their labs. On the other hand,

cosmetic based companies that use animals believe they too, are saving lives. In reality,

cosmetics are only saving people from blemishes and imperfections, and cannot be compared

to animal testing used to produce safe and useful medicine.

Cosmetic customers have now decided to take a stand

since they know the truth behind how their beloved beauty

products are created, they realize the true colors of the

companies they thought they could trust. These customers

will no longer purchase from these companies until they

repent for the wrongdoing taking place in their labs. Fig. 1.

(paris) Many customers have stopped supporting cosmetic

companies that use animal testing and have dropped their

products into the trash and out of their shopping carts.

Customers have begun to boycott these companies.

Cosmetic customers destroy their products after companies are exposed for testing on animals.

“For the majority of these cases, the brands are sold in China, where animal testing is

mandatory by law for foreign cosmetics. It’s important to read the fine print when reading

brand policies, as many of them will claim to be cruelty-free but then include a clause about
 3

“except when required by law.” If they are sold in stores in China, this clause then means that

they are not a cruelty-free brand” (Laughlin). Upon switching to cruelty free brands and diving

into the world of makeup to determine which brands test and which ones do not customers are

discovering that even though a company does not conduct animal testing in one country, if they

sell their products in China then they are guilty and their companies use animals. China requires

companies to test on animals if they want their product to be sold in their country.

While animal testing has brought an uproar in the cosmetics/beauty community, not

every beauty guru agrees with the movement to ban animals in labs, other passionate gurus

seek change.

“I’m just not using any products that come from those companies and hopefully there will be

enough people doing this to make a change and companies will realize that they’re losing

money…” (2:17 ) These customers have noticed a difference in products and skin conditions

after using cruelty free/vegan friendly based products. “Yes, I would love for everyone to be

100% cruelty free but that’s not the reality for everyone.” (1:15 ) These customers are not only

expressing how they feel but they are encouraging others to do the same. The cruelty free

symbol is a bunny and it should be located with the ingredients on products.

Those against cruelty free demand others to switch over, causing a backlash from those

who don’t know the difference. It can be a tedious switch, but the feeling of choosing a brand

that is cruelty free is like freeing a weight from your shoulder. You feel much cleaner knowing

that your brand doesn’t dirty it’s hands with blood or fur. “All signs point to an industry that’s

working toward being not only cleaner, but also vegan and cruelty-free.” (Cheng) Fig. 2. This
 4

image projects the switch to cruelty free/vegan friendly products as it displays the cruel and

harsh secrets of our everyday cosmetic

products. (Cheng)

Currently, there are rules and regulations

limiting the use of animal testing in labs, and

these rules existed prior to the current demand

for vegan and cruelty free products from

consumers. There are a set of rules known as

“the three R’s” which refer to replacement,

reduction, and refinement. Replacement refers to methods that replace or avoid using animals

in tests.Reduction refers to using fewer animals in order to get the maximum amount of data

without compromising animal welfare Refinement refers to the modification of husbandry in

procedures to minimize pain.

Working towards reducing the use of animals in labs, companies have more weight on

their shoulders as more laws and acts have been placed to make animal testing safer. On

November 25, 2019 Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act into

law, making it illegal to conduct experiments that are cruel to animals. The bill immediately

went into effect and those found violating the act could be federally prosecuted, fined, and

jailed for up to seven years. After president Donald Trump signed the act, more regulations

were placed on companies that test on animals. If an unauthorized, unsafe test is conducted

the person or company will face serious consequences. These laws don't account for the
 5

companies who conduct unlawful tests and do not document or leave any evidence. There are

companies breaking these acts and laws without anyone noticing.

After decades of relying on animals for our tests and medical discoveries there are

experiments and tests that vivisection/animal experimentation will not be the answer. Animals

no longer belong in labs and animal testing is outdated. Technology has advanced and there are

stronger, more useful ways of conducting tests without animals. Harvard’s Wyss Institute has

established a way to grow human cells that mimics the structure and foundation of human

organs. These chips can be used to replace animals in labs and produce better results that are

fit for humans. While finding ways to remove animals from labs, companies should consider

adding natural ingredients into their cruelty free products in order to make them vegan

friendly. Vegan free products lack harmful chemicals commonly found in drugstore or retail

products. An example would be customers purchasing box hair dyes rather than having a

professional use natural dyes. Box dyes have harsher chemicals and are made to dye all types of

hair rather than a specific thickness, length, style, and texture of hair. Companies who use

animal testing rely on quantity over quality and mass produce their products and need faster

and cheaper ways to make revenue. In virto testing is another substitute that scientists can use

to stimulate human cells. This allows us to test whether or not a substance is toxic to humans or

not. Another alternative to animal testing is using human volunteers. It is obvious that there are

clear and distinct risks to using humans in labs. Microdosing is giving a person a small enough

dote so scientists can use screens and technology to see what the drug is doing inside of the

person’s body and how the body interacts with it. In Virto International states that computer

models are able to stimulate a human body without needed for an animal or a human
 6

volunteer. These computer models allow scientists to start over on an experiment without

harmful consequences.

While many alternatives are available, that doesn’t mean every company can afford

these solutions. Even if a company claims to be cruelty free in one country, there are countries

that regulate and demand that a product be tested on an animal before it sells on a shelf.

Although it sounds easy to ditch animal testing and use other methods, companies are facing

trouble with affording or gaining the technology to substitute for animals. While there are other

ways of testing, companies can get support for transitioning to cruelty free. Some companies

refuse and would rather test on animals. If a company decides to continue using animals in

their labs then more rules, regulations, and laws should be placed on vivisection and animal

testing. Not every company realizes that animal testing is going out of fashion but those who

realize it is becoming a trend to remove animals from labs. The ones who realize will stay in

business while the other ones won’t. As more companies convert to cruelty free options and

some pretend to be cruelty free, customers are dissecting the ingredients, doing research, and

watching companies.

Despite animal welfare and laws placed on companies, some will always argue that we

need animals in our labs. They believe putting these animals in jeopardy is safer than the

technology being built to replace them. This world is becoming more technologically advanced

and as it continues to grow, there will no longer be a need to have animals in labs and this

technology will become more available.

Animal testing has given us groundbreaking rsults in the medical field but cosmetics and

medicines and vaccines are two separate industries. They may be similar but there are striking
 7

differences such health, beauty, and self care. Just like humans, each species and each animal

reacts to chemicals and toxins differently. Keeping animals in labs will not bring about a large

change in the cosmetic industry. Animals in labs may have been beneficial in the past but

keeping them trapped when there are other resources isn’t going to bring that big change.

Using old methods instead of discovering new, advanced and improved methods will not

change our data, it will only weaken it. The 21st century has been proven be against animal

testing with their protest to stop the use of single use plastics, the urgency to switch to

biodegradable straws, containers, ETC, and the desire to fix global warming. Scientists claim

that new medicines require testing in order to observe the harmful effects and beneficial

effects of a product while being used on an organism.

With animals in labs it is cheaper to purchase them products, it cost less to produce

them. Although this is true, more cruelty free/ vegan friendly companies are finding natural

ingredients and making their proxies cheaper to combat these companies. One brand,

ColourPop Cosmetics is 100% vegan friendly and they are one of many top affordable and

popular brands in the cruelty free community. This same brand refuses to sell in China due to

their demand for animal testing.

Cosmetics, no matter how much we want them, are not a need. They are there to

pamper us up and make us feel good. We all have a right to feel confident. Nobody can be

stopped from buying cosmetic products, but becoming educated on how these products are

established and manufactured matter. Cosmetic animal testing should be limited and the

technology to substitute these furry friends should be provided to companies who want to

switch over and free the animals in their labs. When you go shopping for new cosmetic
 8

products or are browsing the shelves, look for the bunny image on the side where ingredients

are located. Customers are the difference. Every purchase matters.

Works Cited

Abbott, Alison. “Animal Testing: More than a Cosmetic Change.” Nature, vol. 438, no. 7065,

Nov. 2005, pp. 144–146.

https://web-a-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?

vid=3&sid=1df3bf10-ae51-4ba2-bafa-e839f725a578%40sdc-v-sessmgr02 Accessed 15.

Feb 2020

“About Cosmetics Animal Testing.” Humane Society International, 26 March 2013,

https://www.hsi.org/news-media/about_cosmetics_animal_testing/ Accessed 17 Feb.

2020

@AlbaParis. “Animal Cruelty is Not a Joke” Instagram, Oct. 30, 2019,

“Alternatives to Animal Testing” Peta,

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-

testing/

Accessed 21 Feb. 2020

“Animal Research Achievements.” Foundation for Biomedical Research,

 9

fbresearch.org/medical-advances/animal-research-achievements/.

Bella Fiori “Everything You Need to Know About Cruelty Free Makeup.” YouTube, Bella Fiori.

22 Jan. 2017, 15:38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK2VJ01AZ0k

Cheng, Andrea. “Why You Should Care About Vegan Beauty.” The New York Times,

26 Feb. 2019,

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/style/why-you-should-care-about-vegan-

beauty.html Accessed 19 Feb. 2020

Cosmetics Testing FAQ” Humane Society of the United States,

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/cosmetics-testing-faq#start Accessed 20th

Feb.

2020

“Cruelty-Free Makeup That’s Also Vegan”

Peta, https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/cruelty-free-vegan-makeup/

Accessed 20 Feb. 2020

Elli, Abby. “Leaving Animals Out of the Cosmetics Picture.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 28 Dec. 2011,

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/fashion/expanding-efforts-to-keep-

cosmetics-testing-from-animals.html Accessed 16 Feb. 2020

“Experimental Animal- an overview.” Science Direct,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-

science/experimental-animal Acessed 20 March 2020

 10

Hirsh, Sophie. “Animal Cruelty Is Officially A Nationwide Felony.” GREEN MATTERS, 25 Nov.

2019, https://www.greenmatters.com/p/animal-cruelty-nationwide-felony-pact-

act-trump Accessed 16 Feb. 2020

Inadmin. “Cosmetic Testing: 3 Non-Animal Testing Alternatives.” Invitrointl, 17 Dec. 2018,

invitrointl.com/cosmetic-testing-3-non-animal-testing-alternatives/.

Kelly Gooch “How to Go Cruelty Free In 2020//Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know!”

YouTube, Kelly Gooch. 18 Jan. 2020, 17:42 https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Fx-Bfpw3u6c

Laughlin, Aly. “30 Makeup Brands That Still Test On Animals In 2020: Cruelty-Free Kitty.”

Cruelty, 13 Apr. 2020, www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/makeup-

brands-that-test-on-animals/.

Mur, Cindy. (2004) “Animal Experimentation.” San Diego, Szumski, B

http://www.demes.teimes.gr/spoudastirio/E-

NOTES/A/Animal_Experimentation_Viewpoints.pdf

O’Brien, Paul. “China Cosmetic Sector and Animal Testing: An Interview with Cruelty Free

International and Some Insight From the Analyst.” Linked IN, 17 July, 2018.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/china-cosmetic-sector-animal-testing-interview-free-

some-o-brien-%E4%BF%9D%E7%BD%97 Accessed 18 Feb. 2020

 11

Pemberton, Max. “DR MAX PEMBERTON THE MIND DOCTOR: If animal tests ease human

suffering, we MUST do them” Daily Mail, Oct. 23, 2015.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3287110/DR-MAX-PEMBERTON-MIND-

DOCTOR-animal-tests-ease-human-suffering-them.html Accessed April 11, 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4QAh7rhvy_/

“Read the Four Main Reasons Why Animals Are Used in Medical Research.” Ari.info, 4 Nov.

2014, 17:02, www.animalresearch.info/en/designing-research/why-animals-are-used/.

“Three R’s Principle (In Animal Experimentation)” Green Facts,

https://www.greenfacts.org/glossary/tuv/three-rs-principle.htm Acxcessed 10 Feb. 2020