In the animal rights movement, cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm or kill animals anywhere in the world. Products tested on animals or made from animals are not considered cruelty-free, since these tests are often painful and cause the suffering and death of millions of animals every year. [1] [ needs update ]
The term cruelty-free was first used in this way by Lady Dowding who persuaded manufacturers of fake furs to use the label Beauty Without Cruelty and went on to found the charity Beauty Without Cruelty in 1959. [2] The term was popularised in the US in the 1970s by Marcia Pearson who founded the group Fashion With Compassion. [3] Then, in 1998, the United Kingdom started a trend by banning all testing on animals. Many other countries followed their lead soon after. [4]
In 1957 Charles Hume and W. M. S. Russell introduced the concept of the three R's in their book Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. These techniques to reduce animals used in tests and their suffering include: replacement (eliminate an animal test altogether), reduction (fewer animals used in test by using statistical analysis) and refinement (making tests less painful). [5]
In 1991 the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) was established "to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods which are important to the biosciences and which reduce, refine or replace the use of laboratory animals." [6] Once the ECVAM's Scientific Advisory Committee approves a test it must be used under the Animal Protection Act, which does not allow the use of animals when an alternative exists.
In 2012, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection joined forces with New England Anti-Vivisection Society and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments to create an international organization to campaign against animal testing. BUAV supporter Ricky Gervais [7] announced the campaign—now considered a deciding factor in the European decision to ban animal testing for personal-care products. Although companies can still use animal testing in countries outside Europe, such as China, which requires animal testing on all imported cosmetics - Note that China now has new legislation in place under CSAR which details methods to enter the Chinese cosmetic market without the need for animal testing. [8] The Leaping Bunny applies to a company's global market, and does not certify product that use animal testing anywhere in the world.
Animals such as rabbits, rats, mice, and guinea pigs are sometimes forced to eat or inhale substances, or have a cosmetic ingredient rubbed onto their shaved skin, eyes or ears every day for 28 or 90 days to see if they have an allergic reaction. Then they are killed and cut open to examine the effects the ingredient has on internal organs. These tests are also done with pregnant animals who, after much suffering, are killed along with the fetus. In more prolonged carcinogen tests, rats are force-fed a cosmetic ingredient over two years, monitored for cancer, and then killed. [9]
“Typically a young rabbit is tightly constrained in a box so that he is unable to move... Clips sometimes hold his eyelids open. Anesthesia is not generally administered. A researcher applies a concentrated substance to the outer layer of the eye and observes over a span days or weeks for responses such as blindness, bleeding, hemorrhaging and ulceration. At the end, the rabbits are generally killed.”
— Megan Erin Gallagher [10]
Primates, dogs, such as the Beagle, and cats are used for invasive experimentation as well. Many laboratories use these species to test drugs, chemicals, and diseases, whether old or new.
As technology developed, outdated animal testing is being replaced with quicker, cheaper and more accurate methods. Critics point out that humane alternatives can be slow to implement, costly, and test only one compound at a time. [11] Alternatives have shown positive results. For example, reconstructed human epidermis—which uses human skin donated from cosmetic surgery to replace the rabbit Draize skin test—is more relevant to human reactions. Other methods replace the Draize eye test by using in vitro (test-tube) human tissue. Computer-based systems allow for isolation of a select tissue or organ to conduct tests in an extremely controlled environment. These tests not only reduce animal testing, but are more precise and accurate at protecting humans from toxic substances. [12] Another cruelty-free option is using ingredients that have already been established as safe, such as the 20,000 ingredients in the European Union database.
Companies now offer a wide range of cruelty-free products such as cosmetics, personal-care products, household cleaners, clothing, shoes, condoms (which are sometimes processed with casein), and candles (which usually use paraffin or beeswax). Organizations such as PETA, Choose Cruelty Free, Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and its offshoot organization Cruelty Free International have released lists of cruelty-free products and cruel products to boycott. Since the 1990s the Leaping Bunny has been the only international third-party cruelty-free certification program.
It is important to distinguish between cruelty free and vegan products because while it is common for people to use these two terms interchangeably, there are several key differences. [13] Products that are vegan may not necessarily be cruelty free and vice versa. The cruelty free label only guarantees that the final product and ingredients are not tested on animals, but the product can still contain animal derived ingredients. [14] Similarly, the vegan label only guarantees that the product does not contain animal ingredients but may still have been tested on animals.
National Cruelty-Free Week is an event in the United Kingdom every year arranged by the BUAV. The 2006 event was from 17 to 23 July. Other, similar, events include: National Vegetarian Week, UK Vegan Week and World Vegan Day , which takes place each year on November 1.
While some manufacturers have begun to label their products as “not tested on animals”, “we do not conduct animal testing”, “never tested on animals”, “against animal testing” or “cruelty-free”, these labels are confusing and potentially misleading, since there is no clear legal definition as to what they mean. [15]
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals, such as model organisms, in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This approach can be contrasted with field studies in which animals are observed in their natural environments or habitats. Experimental research with animals is usually conducted in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, defense establishments, and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to the industry. The focus of animal testing varies on a continuum from pure research, focusing on developing fundamental knowledge of an organism, to applied research, which may focus on answering some questions of great practical importance, such as finding a cure for a disease. Examples of applied research include testing disease treatments, breeding, defense research, and toxicology, including cosmetics testing. In education, animal testing is sometimes a component of biology or psychology courses.
The Draize test is an acute toxicity test devised in 1944 by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) toxicologists John H. Draize and Jacob M. Spines. Initially used for testing cosmetics, the procedure involves applying 0.5 mL or 0.5 g of a test substance to the eye or skin of a restrained, conscious animal, and then leaving it for set amount of time before rinsing it out and recording its effects. The animals are observed for up to 14 days for signs of erythema and edema in the skin test, and redness, swelling, discharge, ulceration, hemorrhaging, cloudiness, or blindness in the tested eye. The test subject is commonly an albino rabbit, though other species are used too, including dogs. The animals are euthanized after testing if the test renders irreversible damage to the eye or skin. Animals may be re-used for testing purposes if the product tested causes no permanent damage. Animals are typically reused after a "wash out" period during which all traces of the tested product are allowed to disperse from the test site.
Cruelty Free International is a British animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments. They organise certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny.
Animal Aid is a British animal rights organisation, founded in 1977 by Jean Pink. The group campaigns peacefully against the consumption of animals as food and against animal cruelty such as their use for medical research—and promotes a cruelty-free lifestyle. It also investigates and exposes animal abuse.
Garnier is a mass market cosmetics brand of French cosmetics company L'Oréal. It produces hair care and skin care products.
Muriel Dowding, Baroness Dowding was an English humanitarian and animal rights activist known for championing anti-vivisection, vegetarianism and the improvement of animal welfare. Like her second husband Lord Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding she was a vegetarian, an anti-vivisectionist, spiritualist and theosophist. She coined the term cruelty-free and was a pioneer of the cruelty-free movement.
Gillian Rose Langley is a British scientist and writer who specialises in alternatives to animal testing and animal rights. She was, from 1981 until 2009, the science director of the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, a medical research charity developing non-animal research techniques. She was an anti-vivisection member of the British government's Animal Procedures Committee for eight years, and has worked as a consultant on non-animal techniques for the European Commission, and for animal protection organizations in Europe and the United States. Between 2010 and 2016 she was a consultant for Humane Society International.
The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is an international not-for-profit animal protection group, based in London, working to end animal testing, and focused on the replacement of animals in research with advanced, scientific techniques. Since 2006, the NAVS has operated its international campaigns under the working name Animal Defenders International (ADI), and the two groups now work together under the ADI name.
Alternatives to animal testing are the development and implementation of test methods that avoid the use of live animals. There is widespread agreement that a reduction in the number of animals used and the refinement of testing to reduce suffering should be important goals for the industries involved. Two major alternatives to in vivo animal testing are in vitro cell culture techniques and in silico computer simulation; however, some claim they are not true alternatives because simulations use data from prior animal experiments and cell cultures often require animal derived products, such as serum or cells. Others say that they cannot replace animals completely as they are unlikely to ever provide enough information about the complex interactions of living systems.
Ecover is a Belgian company that manufactures ecologically sound cleaning products, owned by S. C. Johnson & Son since 2017.
Cosmetic testing on animals is a type of animal testing used to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of cosmetic products for use by humans.
Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC) was founded as an educational charitable trust in England in 1959 by Muriel, the Lady Dowding (1908–1993), past president of the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) and wife of Lord Dowding (1882–1970), the former commander-in-chief of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. It investigated and exposed the brutality inflicted on animals in the fur and cosmetic trade and led the way in the commercial production of synthetic alternatives to fur and cosmetics, without the use of animal ingredients and not tested on animals, pioneering the cruelty-free movement. The initial fundamental purpose of the charitable trust was to demonstrate that alternatives to cruelly derived clothing and cosmetics were easily obtainable and, if they did not exist, to get them on the market. BWC spread the concept that one could easily look beautiful, without inflicting cruelty and death upon any creature.
Rise for Animals is a national, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal rights organization which aims to end nonhuman animal experimentation. It has been described as "one of the oldest and wealthiest anti-vivisection organizations in the United States".
The cosmetic industry describes the industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products. These include colour cosmetics, like foundation and mascara, skincare such as moisturisers and cleansers, haircare such as shampoos, conditioners and hair colours, and toiletries such as bubble bath and soap. The manufacturing industry is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sale of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of different businesses. Cosmetics must be safe when customers use them in accordance with the label's instructions or in the conventional or expected manner. One measure a producer may take to guarantee the safety of a cosmetic product is product testing. FDA occasionally does testing as part of its research program or when looking into potential safety issues with a product. Both the cosmetics business and consumers can benefit from the FDA's resources on product testing.
Animal welfare in the United States relates to the treatment of non-human animals in fields such as agriculture, hunting, medical testing and the domestic ownership of animals. It is distinct from animal conservation.
Animal welfare and rights in India regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in India. It is distinct from animal conservation in India.
Japan has implemented several national animal welfare laws since 1973, but these protections are considered weak by international standards. Animal activism and protection laws in Japan primarily focus on the welfare of domesticated animals and farm animals.
Animal welfare and rights in South Korea is about the laws concerning and treatment of non-human animals in South Korea. South Korea's animal welfare laws are weak by international standards. There are a handful of animal welfare and rights organizations working in South Korea, which appear to be focused largely on the welfare of companion animals and the dog meat trade.
Animal welfare and rights in South Africa is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in South Africa.
Animal welfare and rights in Switzerland is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Switzerland. Switzerland has high levels of animal welfare protection by international standards.
