Be a compassionate shopper; this is a New Year’s resolution you can keep. Purchase products for your home and personal care (including cosmetics) that are not tested on animals, so that you do not support animal testing laboratories and the companies that contract them. Proven alternatives to animal testing are available, especially for consumer products. Test-free consumer products are widely available now and many are no more expensive. Read labels; look for the words “not tested on animals.” If you don’t see those words, assume that the product is tested on animals.

Shoppers, start here, if you don’t find compassionate products locally:

• Leaping Bunny portal access to companies that are cruelty-free
• PETA’s Caring Consumer Program list of cruelty free-companies  (PDF)
• “In Defense of Animals” Cruelty-free Companies (International) Listing 

None of these lists is all-inclusive. Each has different participation criteria. A company may choose not to sign the required statements or agreements required to participate in a listing.

What is animal testing?

Personal care products, cosmetics, and household cleaning products are tested on animals in laboratories, but USA laws do not require it. Large consumer product manufacturers typically contract with animal testing laboratories. Rats, mice, rabbits, dogs, cats, monkeys, and other animals are kept in small cages and kennels throughout their short lifetimes. They are forced to swallow or inhale test substances, and in one common test, up to 50% of them are expected to die. Caustic chemicals are applied to sensitive eyes (or applied to fur and skin). (Medical testing is a related subject not addressed here but very serious concerns exist.)

Yet test results are often unreliable, inconclusive or inapplicable to humans, many believe. The tested products are often included in consumer products, even if test results indicate some level of toxicity. If you are concerned about household or personal care products being safe for your family, you should also the question that animal testing used to justify that professed safety. And for animal lovers who believe animals suffer pain and deserve compassionate treatment, you should boycott products and companies that do not align with your values.

More information about testing:

• LA Times article about recent advances in animal testing
• About.com Environmental Issues: Animal Testing
• Wikipedia: Animal Testing
• Wikipedia: Alternatives to Animal Testing

Be aware that some types of products, including pharmaceuticals and some chemicals, require animal testing by law.

Five Simple Things You Can Do to be Compassionate to Animals