Business ethics, my dilemma: Cosmetic testing on animals

Résumé du document

Cosmetics are used daily by millions of people, and include a vast range of products such as shampoo, makeup, moisturizer, perfume, etc. Approximately 38,000 animals are used every year across the EU to test new ingredients and products. And in the world, cosmetics companies kill millions of animals every year to test their products. These companies claim they test on animals to establish the safety of their products and ingredients for consumers. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require animal testing for cosmetics, and alternative testing methods are widely available and lead to more reliable results. Hundreds of companies – including Avon, The Body Shop and Mary Kay – already use humane non-animal testing methods to ensure the safety of their cosmetics.

When most people go to the store to purchase cosmetics and household cleaners they usually don't put too much thought into it. Most people do not realize that 14 million animals die and suffer each year for these products that are almost meaningless to humans.

Cosmetic animal testing is a very big problem that gets greatly overlooked. It is a problem that has lasted for centuries. As a matter of fact, according to the All for Animals Newsletter, animal testing on cosmetics goes way back to the seventeenth century when animals were believed to feel no pain.

Extraits

[...] It is predicted that the demand for the cosmetics product would increase to $ 4.3 billion in the year 2008. Innovative products are in demand as people have become more conscious of their beauty. But these people don't care in general if their cosmetic products are tested or not on animals and that is the main problem. ( Consumer's Associations, associations for the animals Consumer's Associations and associations in general play an important role to fight cosmetic testing on animals. [...]

[...] The FDA answers this question for some types of products as they do require animal testing for medicinal skin and eye care products. Now, while they do not specifically require testing for most cosmetic and personal care products, many manufacturers still use animal testing in their product research. Animals have been used in testing for over 2,000 years and the debate has been going on for just as long. In the most recent years the use of animals in all kinds of testing has dropped due to the pressure from animal rights activists. [...]

[...] There are some honest companies that don't make the claim “cruelty-free” simply because of one of the above reasons. III/ Ethical discussion The cosmetic animal testing is done for eye shadows and soaps. Majority of these eye shadow tests are done on rabbits in order to assess the level of damage or irritation caused to the rabbits. The sunscreen products are also tested on guinea pigs to assess the level of allergic reaction and irritation. These cosmetic testing could cause bleeding problems to the animals. [...]

[...] And no, I don't stand to profit in any way from these . except, maybe, to live longer and in less pain. I didn't know a lot about animal testing but I had been learning about it with Internet, new animal rights legislation and so forth. So, when I hear some people say: really don't see what is so bad about animal testing", I felt like I had obviously missed an opportunity somewhere to explain just exactly what is in involved in animal testing and why I personally consider it to be an inappropriate and unnecessarily inhumane use of our relationship with animals. [...]

[...] And in the world, cosmetics companies kill millions of animals every year to test their products. These companies claim they test on animals to establish the safety of their products and ingredients for consumers. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require animal testing for cosmetics, and alternative testing methods are widely available and lead to more reliable results. Hundreds of companies including Avon, The Body Shop and Mary Kay already use humane non-animal testing methods to ensure the safety of their cosmetics. [...]