Makeup Mondays: The importance of environmentally friendly makeup
Some phenomenal local, cruelty-free makeup and skincare brands in South Africa don’t test their products on animals. So, if you’re looking for a more environmentally friendly way to live, then make the small shift to cruelty-free.
IF you want to get into the lifestyle of sustainable living but don’t know where to start, try cutting out the use of products that have been tested on animals.
There are some phenomenal local, cruelty-free makeup and skincare brands in South Africa that don’t test on animals. So if you’re looking for a more environmentally friendly way to live, then make the small shift to cruelty-free.
For decades, big-name makeup and skincare brands used animal testing to establish product safety. Many successful and established makeup brands still use animal testing to assure the safety of a product or ingredient. However, in 1980, people and organisations started paying attention to how harmful and morally corrupt it is for brands to test products on animals. The ethical consequences of methods such as the Draize irritancy test were examined more closely.
Draize irritancy tests require directly exposing animals’ eyes and skin to chemicals. Considered for decades to be the gold standard for cosmetic safety assessments, these tests would cause extensive animal suffering.
Many different species have been used for animal testing around the world, but the most common include mice, fish, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals, birds, cats, dogs, mini-pigs and non-human primates – monkeys, and in some countries, chimpanzees.
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After decades of animal rights organisations advocating to put a stop to the cruelty of testing on animals, many beauty and skincare brands available on the market are now completely cruelty-free. This means that even if you haven’t hopped on the cruelty-free bandwagon, there is still time to update your makeup and skincare kits and ensure that you don’t use products from brands that contribute to the cruelty of animal testing.
What does cruelty-free mean?
If a product is marketed as a cruelty-free product, it simply means that there was no animal testing involved in the manufacturing of the product. An important thing to note when looking for environmentally friendly beauty products is that cruelty-free products and vegan products are two different things. Both are great for the environment. However, if a product is marketed as vegan, that means no animal-derived components were involved in the manufacturing process.
Cruelty-free guidelines/rules
A brand that is cruelty-free does not perform any animal testing on products at any point during the making of their products. They must also ensure that their suppliers don’t test on animals, and no third-parties tests on animals can be performed on their behalf. Their products cannot be sold in stores in mainland China. This is due to the fact that China requires animal testing on cosmetics not manufactured in their country. This is for safety reasons as the Chinese want to ensure that no harmful cosmetics will be sold in China. A majority of brands and businesses have accepted and acknowledged how unnecessary animal testing is in the modern day and age. However many brands are still held back by losing their business in China.
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How does it work in South Africa?
Animal testing is still legal in South Africa. Places such as India, Russia and the European Union have banned animal testing completely. However, South Africa, along with Australia, Brazil and Japan are a few countries that have not yet outright banned the practice of animal testing.
South African brands that are cruelty-free
A wonderful range of products is available that offer effective formulas and results. Here is a list of top-of-the-range cruelty-free products that are effective and won’t break the bank either.
- Kryolan Beauty
- La Girl Cosmetics
- NYX Cosmetics
- Essence Cosmetics
- Catrice Cosmetics
- Clicks Beauty
- Dischem Beauty
- Eylure
- Swiitch Beauty
- Smashbox
- WBeauty
- Smudge Cosmetics
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