Shouldn’t all sentient creatures be respected?

International Animal Rights Day on 10th December, serves to remember ‘the billions of animals subjected to deliberate cruelty and killing across the world every year,’ whether that’s by testing cosmetics on them, or destroying their habitats and leaving them helpless.

Since March 2013, animal testing has been banned in all EU countries. It is also illegal to ‘sell cosmetics products within the EU which have been, or which contain ingredients, newly tested on animals.’ Even the U.S. has moved away from testing on animals. However, brands such as such as L’Oréal and Estee Lauder (2 of the biggest cosmetics companies in the world!) are not free from animal cruelty altogether. Both companies sell their products in China, where the law requires “animal testing of imported cosmetics.”  Notably, many of the brands sold in China do fund efforts towards securing an ethical alternative to animal testing. In 2016, ‘China’s Zhejiang Institute for Food and Drug Control’ opened a lab in collaboration with the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, which ‘has been training Chinese scientists in tests using reconstructed skin cells.’ Therefore, it seems likely that China won’t require animal testing for cosmetics in the near future, as they are developing their scientific knowledge.

When you walk into your local drugstore, you’re not likely to think ‘which brands are cruelty-free?’, but once you do, you’ll realise the limited amount of options available. You won’t be able to pick up anything from Loreal, Maybelline, Revlon or Rimmel London! It can be hard to make the decision to switch to cruelty-free brands, when this requires you to walk past some of the most coveted names. It all depends on your own thoughts about ethics. Is it enough that the product you’re holding hasn’t been domestically tested on animals in the EU, or do you care more about whether it has been tested on animals at all?

Now, for those of you who already support and buy cruelty-free brands, mark the date of 12th December on your calendars, as Cruelty Free International is calling for supporters to share their reasons for supporting and shopping for a cruelty-free world.

They have chosen #12Twelve as their social media hashtag, since:

“The United Nations has set out Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) which aim to transform the world by 2030. SDG 12 is all about responsible and ethical production and consumption”

You can help achieve this goal by being a cruelty-free shopper and supporting Leaping Bunny companies such as: BH Cosmetics, Biossance, Burt’s Bees, The Body Shop, ColourPop Cosmetics, NYX and many others.

What you can do on the 12th:

• Pose with a pledge and upload it to social media using the hashtags #12Twelve #CrueltyFree
• You can choose one to print and pose with or even make your own!
• And if you don’t want to pose then you can simply share the message by using the hashtags.

Let’s try to move towards a world where other sentient beings don’t suffer for human profit, even if it’s just by taking little steps, I believe we can get there.

Iqra Arshad