Animal Testing in the Cosmetic Industry: An Increasingly Controversial Issue

In this paper there are three main topics that are going to be covered. They are alternatives to animal testing, animal testing in cosmetics, and the news in the cosmetic industry related to animal testing. For this paper there were four sources that were evaluated. All of them had a few things in common and through that it was easy to link them together through three different subtopics that will be evaluated later in this paper. The first source that I will be using is “The Science of Dermocosmetics and Its Role in Dermatology”. This article was written by Dreno, B., E. Araviiskaia, E. Berardesca, T. Bieber, J. Hawk, M. Sanchez- Viera, and P. Wolkenstein. The second article that will be effective in this essay is “New

Picture being locked up in a cage, injured, alone, and in pain. Imagine being a prisoner without committing a crime. This scenario exposes the life of rabbits, mice, dogs, pigs, cats, and many other animals used in cosmetic product testing. The topic of whether animal cosmetic testing is necessary or not has been a topic that many have put-off, but something that should be thought about. The reason that specific animals like, rabbits, chimpanzees, and apes are used for experimenting is because their DNA almost exactly matches a human’s. Since these mammals’ DNA is almost identical, researchers are positive that they are a great tool for testing cleaning and cosmetic products. Though researchers don’t feel any remorse for how they treat

Animal testing is a cheap way for companies to test products without harming humans. It may seem all fine and dandy, but many defenseless animals are dying for our selfish purposes. Many beloved companies hide the fact that they harm these innocent animals. A few of those companies are Avon, Bobbi Brown, Covergirl, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, M.A.C. Cosmetics and Pantene. At first sight many may think “ a few animal lives are ok to spare”, but when they see how many mainstream colossal companies are practicing these methods, they will see just how many animals are impacted by these terrible ways.

Did you know that more than 100 million animals die every year in U.S. labs? Many people believe it's wrong because it kills animals, but big companies still love it. Testing on animals can be traced back all the way to the 17th century in the UK during Harvey’s experiments to demonstrate blood. I believe that animal testing should be banned in the field of cosmetics, because there are already over 1000 ingredients already proven safe.

In today’s society, there are billions of cosmetic products for sale. There are whole stores dedicated to cosmetics alone. Aisles upon aisles are lined with products designed to make a person look better, smell better, feel better. Behind those products though, there is a hideous truth. Those very products, designed to make a person beautiful, are tested on animals in order to be deemed safe enough for human use. Many organizations have campaigns to combat the issue. One such organization is the National Animal Protection Agency in Italy. The image above is one of their various campaigns to stop cosmetic testing on animals. Many of the aspects in the image above provide deeper meaning than what is realized at first glance and help provide more information on the topic.

Cosmetic companies that use all natural products generally don’t use animal testing to prove their products are safe for consumer use. The likeliness for someone, for example, to get acne, non-allergy based rashes, and drying of skin is near to none when comparing natural organic products to cheap chemically made drugstore products. Even if products from brands like Almay, Cover Girl, and Maybelline is in stock at local stores and bigger companies, it doesn’t mean that their products are automatically safe to use. According to the executive vice president of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association, “Are your cosmetic products safe? Cosmetic companies say yes, but the proof is hard to find. Under current law of the U.S Food, Drug Administration (FDA) cannot require companies to test personal care products for safety before they are sold. Instead, companies must ensure a product is safe. But they don’t have to tell anyone how they came to that conclusion, including the FDA” (Dezio and Wiles). Many companies have put chemicals on the market that eventually have been declared as dangerous. The senior vice president of the Environmental Working Group states, “Phthalates, chemicals found in nail polish, have been associated with birth defects in boys” (Dezio and Wiles). Therefore, explaining the crucial realization of that chemically based products are

Many products that we use on a daily routine have been part of animal testing. Throughout the years this has become a problem that millions of people have been raising awareness for and trying to find a solution to end this cruel act. But is this enough? One of the most notorious users of animal testing is cosmetic manufacturers. Throughout the year 's many cosmetic companies have been trying to transition into using cruelty-free products. For example, Marla Donato from the Chicago Tribune states, "two of the largest manufacturers Avon Products and Revlon recently announced a permanent end to all animal testing by their companies. Mary kay announced a temporary moratorium on practice, and Procter and gamble unveiled a $450,000 grant program to investigate alternative research methods (Donato par.1)."

Animal testing has been a controversy long debated over. However, more recently cosmetic animal testing has been a focus for many people. Cosmetic animal testing includes experimenting with cosmetics on guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rabbits, and rats. According to the Food and Drug Administration cosmetics are anything used on the human body with the intention of beautifying or cleansing. Some examples of these include lipstick, face makeup, deodorant, perfume, nail polish, shampoo, hair dyes, any ingredient used in a cosmetic, and many more. Human Society International stated that about 100,000-200,000 suffer and die each year due to cosmetic testing. In the U.S cosmetic animal testing is legal, however, there are certain

Fatima walks into the cosmetic section of Macy’s and is interested in buying some acne skin care products. As she was paying for them, she notices plenty of harmful side effects the acne products contained. Fatima is glad she is aware of these symptoms and knows that these side effects are rare and that the product is almost completely safe to use. If it was not for animal testing that is currently being used in some laboratories, these side effects would have been discovered on people and that would create an unsafe environment. Less people would want to buy care products and medicine since it would be viewed as a risk instead of something helpful. Animal testing is becoming a more controversial topic, despite its many successes over the years. Since people have various misconceptions about it, such as it being an unsafe and cruel technique, it has become a more unpopular method. However, the benefits of animal research and testing have been less spread due to negative media attention, which created a bias among the public. Animal testing is a practice that has proved to be beneficial and should be continued because of the close similarity between humans and animals, the many lifesaving cures that it contributed to, and the regulation of the practice that makes it safe and humane for animals.

Dalai Lama once said, ”Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.” Every year, animals experience pain and die in perilous tests to obtain higher quality and resolve the safety of cosmetics. Animal testing for cosmetics should be restricted because it is very dangerous to animals, it is traumatizing, and unnecessary.

Throughout history, animal testing has played a huge and important role in cosmetic as well as medical advancement around the world, which for the most part is fairly significant. This advancement coming on the backs of millions upon millions of animals, a necessary evil? This question is hugely speculated throughout the scientific community. Animal testing has been around for a pretty long time, whether it is medically, or it is cosmetically, in recent years, though the question has been raised about whether there is still a need for animal testing in cosmetics a question that has been proposed and fiercely debated by scientists of your caliber as well as everyday individuals who see this as a huge problem. With the amazing advancements being

Clearly, scientists knowledge on treatment is based on millions of animal research to some extent. It seems to me that animal research is the key to medical treatment technology even if the testing is considered as unethical by majority of the general public. I believe people are morally aware of animal testing, still, these testing ensure the effectiveness and safety of treatment. Whether or not people accepts, it is comprehensible that we are becoming more flourish. Notwithstanding animal experimentation gives benefits to us, I have a loathing of cosmetic animal testing as it has no contribution to the medical field which people take advantage of animals and sacrifices them.

Imagine hearing the cries and whimpers from a laboratory and wondering what it is. Those sounds are coming from animals being tested and ejected with new substances daily. Everyday, animals are being tested on in laboratories and forced to use their bodies and faces for harmful chemicals in makeup. Millions of animals are killed yearly for testing purposes. Dying every day from this, animals won’t stop being put in danger until there is a cease to animals testing. In order to terminate animal cosmetic testing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should ban makeup testing on animals and use more effective and safe solutions such as human skin cells, this would help animals and humans.

Animal experimentation has long standing roots in human history, specifically in the cosmetic industry and medical professions. Many could argue that humanity could not have progressed to today’s advancements without a heavy reliance on animal experimentation. There are some notable cases throughout history where such testing was undeniably beneficial, although it could certainly be argued that such methods were not always necessary. With significant advancements in scientific technology and medical practices animal testing should no longer be considered necessary or a morally defensible practice.

Many of the world's major cosmetics manufacturers have long used animals to test both the makeup, perfumes, hair products, lotions and other body products. This has been considered one of the worst forms of animal abuse.