On Friday 4th October, the world will come together to celebrate World Animal Day 2019. This is an opportunity for organisations, groups and individuals to mark the importance of animal welfare standards in every corner of the globe.
Alongside our passion for all things plastic free beauty, we also recognise the social issue of Animal Testing within the industry. A staggering statistic from Cruelty Free International suggests that over 80% of countries around the world still don’t have laws against animal testing, despite the European Union’s ban against it in 2013. This means it’s a widespread and very real problem that must be addressed in an attempt to end this form of animal cruelty.
In the beauty and cosmetics industry, brands must make a conscious choice when considering how to test the safety of their products. Companies often use animal testing to check the safety of their product, despite it being “unnecessary and innacurate” with over 100 million animals suffering inhumane treatment per year. What’s more, the Humane Society stated that “94% of drugs that pass animal tests fail in human clinical trials.”
Products that are cruelty-free and vegan will have packaging complete with Leaping Bunny and PETA certifications. If there is no indication of these credentials it usually means they are not cruelty free. Therefore, if you spot the Leaping Bunny certification on any products you can be sure that there is absolutely no animal testing involved. This even tracks down to the ingredient suppliers, marking a truly cruelty-free product.
Currently, a large portion of drugstore and pharmacy brands still test on animals as noted by Cruelty Free Kitty most of which we would never associate with animal cruelty.
PFB Top Tip: if you’re unsure if a product is cruelty free, you can download the Cruelty Cutter app and scan any barcode on a product to find out for yourself.
To get involved with #WorldAnimalDay in the fight against animal testing, visit World Animal Day Online to see the events online and in your area.
