Lovely Followers

Friday 9 April 2010

Well done Superdrug, Marks and Spencer, Argos and The Co-operative!

Someone asked me on my formspring a while back if I just used cruelty free make up. A good question! I use cruelty free household products and cosmetics. It used to be a real struggle to get things like hand wash, shower gel, washing up liquid, kitchen cleaner etc... and I used to have to buy them online and they were expensive. For the last year or so I have been getting items like that from The Co-operative (a chain of grocery stores in the UK) as I really support their fair trade and cruelty free stance. How they treat UK Dairy farmers is another matter though... Also Oxfam have some great household products that I have used in the past too.


I recently read on the BUAV Go Cruelty free website that Superdrug, Marks and Spencer and Argos have joined the Go Cruelty free scheme. All of their own brand products are cruelty free. I have even more choice, they aren't expensive and they are easy to get hold of when I need them! Shopping on the High Street just got interesting again.

Now I am addressing this post to companies like Boots. I enquired about Facefront cosmetics as Boots were the only stockist. I was interested in the Christmas collections they were selling (those large file type ones with domed eye shadows etc...). What I didn't realise is that they make them as well.

The long and short of it is that a Boots Customer Service Manager categorically told me in an email that Boots doesn't believe that cruelty free products will ever be truly achievable. I think she meant that because everything has been tested at some point in the past. I agree, there is little that can be done about that now. They could make sure that from now on they are not tested again? Some cosmetics companies are actively involved in the search for alternatives to the current animal toxicity tests which I applaud. However, they could also choose to use ingredients which do not require this testing, as there is enough technical information and alternative testing methodology to render them safe for cosmetic use.

I will not speculate in this article on why profitable companies think that they can't produce cosmetics without animal testing. We can but guess at the motives behind using suppliers who test on animals whether asked to or not. I am sure with that in mind they are doing all that they can to prepare for 2013, when the EU Cosmetics Directive deadline comes in to effect, and animal testing of cosmetic products will be prohibited for good.

I'm currently researching ingredients commonly found in our cosmetics and what concerns people have about them and if they are founded in science or speculation. This is something I started reading around recently as I'd like to get to the bottom of which ingredients trigger my allergic reactions.




6 comments:

  1. Jasmine!

    I am so happy that you are addressing ingredients found in cosmetics. It is so hard to get ingredient lists here in the states (Particularly for MAC makeup, their ingredients are super secret!). I try to address it on my blog as well.

    Carmine is a common ingredient found in eyeshadow. It's made from crushed beetles....YUCK!!! That's why I try to stick to E.L.F.!

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  2. It's good to see a cruelty free blogger.

    Problem I have with the stamps and awards is many companies jump on the "cruelty free band wagon" because animal testing is becoming obsolete, not through any ethical stance. They're just looking to expand their market.

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  3. Your such an inspiration Jasmine. I too have been exploring the world of cosmetic ingredients, it's a dark scary place! Keep up the great work.

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  4. Thanks for the support. At the moment, I don't really care whether companies are becoming cruelty free because of moral pressure or impending regulations. What is important is that the regulations and monetary pressures wouldn't exist without us the caring consumer or the lobbying of Parliament by groups such as BUAV. I think that's why I am now looking at safe cosmetics as they might not be tested on animals but they might contain scary things!

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  5. hii
    ive just started trying to only use cruelty free products, its such a minefield!,well done for going being cruelty free! good to know good old superdrug is cruelty free! x

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  6. Amazing post! I personally try to be as cruelty free as possible but i find it difficult as i've found websites that conflict on which companies are cruelty free. For instance i heard for ages that Sainsburys own bran products were cruelty free and now i've just found out they're not. I feel so guilty.
    Speed on 2013!

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