How important is it to you that your brands are cruelty free

[Houseplanter]

Have recently been checking and frankly horrified how many I've been using that have been tested on animals .. or might have been.

For me this will change.

The problem is that vegan does not always equal cruelty free.

Typical of multinationals as many products do not contain animal products anyway so are vegan by default. This does not mean that they haven't been tested on animals.

I don't think about it for beauty products but much more selective when it comes to food. All our meat is free range and local.

And I don't buy merino wool unless it is non-mulesed.

I only buy cruelty-free beauty products and house hold products. Plenty of choice, even for my sensitive skin. Not necessarily more expensive either - Aldi deodorant, toothpaste and other toiletries and cleaning products tend to be cruelty free.

It's not something I check for tbh. In an ideal world, of course it's something I would want. The issue is that any company selling into China, the biggest market in the world, had to by law, test ingredients and finished product on animals. Unfortunately no large company can afford to exclude China from it's customer base. Additionally there are many other issues you might want to take up with China, but the list is long!

I do try to buy mostly natural based products, with few ingredients, as I have sensitive skin, so that helps. Also I check, and subsequently pay more for, coats and duvets, for example, with certified feather and down, and British wool clothing. I DO try not to buy anything from China.

It's not something I check for tbh. In an ideal world, of course it's something I would want. The issue is that any company selling into China, the biggest market in the world, had to by law, test ingredients and finished product on animals. Unfortunately no large company can afford to exclude China from it's customer base. Additionally there are many other issues you might want to take up with China, but the list is long!

I do try to buy mostly natural based products, with few ingredients, as I have sensitive skin, so that helps. Also I check, and subsequently pay more for, coats and duvets, for example, with certified feather and down, and British wool clothing. I DO try not to buy anything from China.

Yes, always. I hate the idea of animals suffering unnecessarily - no need for it at all. Efficacy is the same and there are products out there to suit every pocket.

I’ve only bought cruelty free products since I read a book about vivisection at 14 and had nightmares for a month! It used to be pretty difficult to find good CF makeup but now there’s so many brands that don’t test on animals I feel like there’s not really an excuse to buy from those that do.

CatMadam I was the same. My mum started buying products from Cosmetics to Go and Beauty Without Cruelty back in the 80’s.
I was a teen back then and was horrified to learn so many animals were being tortured each day so people could wear a nice lipstick or mascara. Back then they were about the only companies you could guarantee didn’t test on animals.
These days there are so many that it’s no excuse to purchase products using animal testing, no excuse at all.

Yes. Years ago. BWC and The Body Shop were the main places.
I only buy CF including laundry ,cleaning , household products.

sad to see some previously CF companies now sell inChina.

made my heart ache too seeing people get so excited about the Christmas Advent Beauty calendars that they “had to have”.
How many animals died for that .

it’s a pain when I get shampoo in my eyes but I’m at least able to wash it out 😢

Very. If it's not cruelty free, then I won't use it - and that includes brands that 'are', but their parent company isn't.

I'm not happy that a lot of clothing is produced involving cruelty to humans. It's difficult to get any transparency about this though. Ditto a lot of toys and other goods made in China.

Then start a thread on it. OP is asking specifically about animals, if you read the ops post.

It's the number one factor for me when buying new products

Not something I consider tbh

Yes I only buy cruelty free stuff. It's really easy just to look for the leaping bunny.

I'm sure there's more I can do (like not buy single use plastics) but yeah this feels really achievable and not a budget issue either.

Most of my stuff is Superdrug.

I am careful with my main brands but get beauty boxes and advent calendars and realise later that I don't know.

It's easy anough to at least check your core products.

Botox is worse though. Not just tested on animals like cosmetics but every single batch has to be used to test the lethal dose on mice with it being a medicine.

Very important.

Very important. I always check brands via cruelty free kitty (I hope they are a truly reliable source of information). I rarely buy anything not cruelty free.

Very important to me, that and natural / non-endocrine disrupting ingredients, no micro-plastics etc.

I used The Body Shop back in the day, now I look for the Natrue logo or check ingredients on the EWG database.

Beauty products are vanity products and should not involve animal cruelty.

I'm a vegan so only use cruelty free everything.

The only thing I draw a line at is my toddler. She has eczema so I have to use whatever the doctor gives me but obviously that's out of my hands and my child comes first.

There’s so many companies out there with really good products that don’t test. It’s not a poor second choice.

Beauty & household cleaning.

I agree. It’s good to see a few bigger companies getting Leaping Bunny honours.

It’s been very important to me for a long time now. It’s a lot easier nowadays.

I feel sad that a good few people have said it doesn’t even cross their minds.

Thank you, some really interesting posts.

I am ashamed not to have given this more thought before... what was I thinking?! Or not thinking.

I've spent some time looking at what I use regularly and if it's tested on animals.. thank fully a lot isn't. It's goodbye to some some of my favourites though (Mac, EL) and hello to more of those I already use and like (No7, Lisa Eldridge, Rimmel).

How do you find which cosmetic and cleaning products are cruelty free?