Without cruelty: Where to find cruelty-free-cosmetics
In Russia, more and more people are starting to talk about ethical lifestyle.: conscious consumption, recycling and rejection of products harmful to animals; this includes the use of cruelty-free cosmetics. However, to understand this topic is not easy: there are not so many fully ethical brands on the Russian market, and companies and distributors are reluctant to share information about the tests being conducted.
There are many myths around ethical cosmetics: starting with the confusion with eco and mineral labels and concluding that it must be natural. But one of the most common misconceptions is the belief that ethical and vegan tools are not as safe as those tested on animals. We understand what's what.
What is ethical cosmetics?
Ethical cosmetics are products that are not tested on animals and do not exploit them. Needless to say, vegan products that do not contain animal products are ethical. Sometimes products with a vegetarian composition are also referred to as ethical cosmetics: honey, beeswax, carminic acid derived from insects, lanolin or cysteine. Again, the main condition is that cosmetics should not be tested on animals, and the composition should not contain ingredients extracted from a killed vertebrate animal. In 2013, the European Union completely banned the testing of cosmetics on animals.
A similar ban applies in India, Australia, Israel and Norway. In addition, some researchers believe that tests of drugs and cosmetics on animals do not guarantee that the product is safe for humans and will not cause side effects - at least because animals and people react differently to the same substances.
In Russia, animal testing for the certification of cosmetics was mandatory until 2012. Now Russian manufacturers and distributors of cosmetics are offered to choose how to test products: by alternative methods or on animals. The most common alternative test is in vitro (in vitro test). Also for checking cosmetics use computer simulation, testing on artificial skin and clinical trials on volunteers. One of the main opponents of alternative research in Russia is Rospotrebnadzor. In 2017, the ministry gave a negative assessment to the draft law on a total ban on testing cosmetics and perfumery on animals. Rospotrebnadzor believes that alternative tests do not cope with the verification of "new and little-studied types of raw materials", and laboratories require "serious financial investments" - unlike animal tests.
At the moment, the most stringent legislation in the field of cosmetics and perfumery is in China. Any imported cosmetics sold in Chinese stores must be tested on animals. The exception is the territory of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Also, products purchased in foreign online stores and Chinese cosmetics produced for export are not tested on animals. Often, testing of foreign cosmetics in China occurs after the products have been put up for sale - without notifying the manufacturer. Therefore, companies that position themselves in Europe as cruelty-free, but are represented in China, are considered unethical.
How to identify ethical cosmetics
The hardest thing to determine which companies are truly ethical, and which only pretend to attract a buyer. The author of the blog about ethical cosmetics Marpeta Margarita Morozova advises to check with the white list of the PETA organization. It is constantly updated, there are several hundred brands and companies. “I check cosmetics somewhere by fifteen criteria: certificates, eco standards, vegan or not, natural or not, who issues, whether it is for sale in China. Margarita.
Journalist Anya Sakharova, a vegan woman with ten years of experience, besides the blog Marpeta, uses the Cruelty Free Kitty aggregator - it is updated more often than the PETA list. For those who do not want to scroll through long lists and request certificates from manufacturers, there is a Bunny Free application. It has a search by name and barcode scanning function, but a set of stamps is focused more on US residents.
Do not trust the markings on the packaging: in many countries around the world, including in Russia, they are not regulated at all. Unscrupulous manufacturers and distributors may place rabbit-shaped badges on tubes and banks, similar to the logo of the International Association of Manufacturers against testing cosmetics on animals, or designations characteristic of a vegan composition.
Another important question: how to deal with ethical brands that belong to unethical companies? Among activists and adherents of an ethical lifestyle, there is no consensus on this. Some have called for a boycott of brands that are the daughters of large unethical concerns (such as L'Oréal and Estée Lauder). Others believe that the support of an ethical brand, although dependent on another company, shows the big players that customers have a need for a product. “I have no shame in buying cosmetics from cruelty-free brands like NYX, which belong to large, not completely ethical companies. In Russia, it is impossible to find ethically perfect cosmetics, and even one that suits you,” says Anya Sakharova. make compromises. "
Where to look for ethical brands
In Russia, there are not so many brands that do not cause questions in terms of ethics, but in large cities you can find dozens of bona fide means of different price categories. In addition to Lush and Natura Siberica, Russia has corners and online stores of professional brands: Inglot, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Urban Decay. Do not be afraid of vegan and eco-shops: in “Butek”, “Jagannat” and Organic Shop you can find real treasures.
Budget brands like Essence are represented in "Girlfriend", the beauty line H & M, by the way, is also not tested on animals. Care cosmetics Hauschka and Dr. Konopka's is in "Golden Apple" and even in "Riv Gaucher". Ethical hair dye should be sought from the brands Manic Panic and Lime Crime - the second is represented in Russia, but it will have to pay more for the bank than if it were purchased from intermediaries. Nevertheless, for non-trivial and budgetary care products for the face, body and hair, you still have to go to iHerb or 4fresh.
Photo: Aesop
