Can You Trust A Cruelty-Free Label?
Yes, I know what you might think; how can companies dodge a cruelty-free label? Can companies that test on animals avoid accountability?
To cut to the chase, they can and have done so in the past.
Ironically, the cruelty-free label primarily catered around “not tested on animals,” nine times out of ten, it’s nothing more than a marketing scheme.” What does cruelty-free mean on a label, then? The label is like a marketing gimmick to motivate consumers to buy the product regardless of whether the product is or is not “ truly cruelty-free.”
With individuals and organizations such as PETA fighting for animal rights and raising their voices about animal testing, companies speak to these protests by complying with the emerging opinion by opting for this label. One would expect that the “concerns about the ethics of using animals to test product safety, especially for cosmetics” industry would dissuade the companies from using them. However, it has the opposite effect. Governmental agencies and industries continue to use animals for tests. Research shows evidence that around 500,000 animals are used in cosmetics tests worldwide annually.
The label is meant to deregulate the inhumane treatment of animals. Additionally, some animals most prone to be used in product testing trials are “mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters.” Various applications test these animals: "the eyes or patches of bare skin, by injection, inhalation, or oral intake.” By testing these body parts, companies can assess and prove the effectiveness of their product to the relevant authority.
But what makes it worse is that “animal testing claims are not regulated by the FDA,” which means that brands that test on animals will not face any legal action even if it goes against the label.
The next question is, how do you get a cruelty-free label? Concerning the government, there is an absence of an authority who can “defines these terms, nor sets standards for their usage; it is left to individual companies to define their own “cruelty-free” label.” Companies do not go through a formal procedure, some tend to make their labels, and writers even have written articles about identifying a fake cruelty-free label. Sometimes the icon, the color, or the shape gives away the fakeness of the label on the product, which is atrocious given that a government body should regulate such activities.
How does this affect us? If you start to evaluate brands on this label, many questions arise: Which cosmetics are cruelty-free? How many brands are cruelty-free? Is the label even accurate? The information search and evaluation process with the label is counterintuitive as it is meant to reduce the burden for us in deciding on one brand over another. It is often the deal breaker, as makeup tested on animals is not tolerated.
