Every woman should know about 'Cruelty Free' CosmeticsBy Joan Bachmeier, AICI CIP As Image Consultants we provide advice and guidelines to clients all the time. It is important to stay current and informed regarding the manufacturing of cosmetics. Clients want to know about sunscreen, fragrance free and hypo allergenic products. An even more popular question today is "Is it tested on animals?"Have you ever noticed phrases like 'Cruelty Free', 'Not Tested on Animals' and 'Against Animal Testing' on the packing of moisturizers, perfumes, blushers and other cosmetics and wondered what these actually signify? Such statements by cosmetic manufacturers are a mere assurance that the finished products have not been tested on animals. This, however, does not necessarily mean that the ingredients have not been tested too. Almost all cosmetic ingredients have been tested on animals at some point of time by companies. So cosmetic companies cannot claim that its ingredients have never been animal tested. But the usage of cosmetic ingredients with a proven safety record can minimize such cruelty towards animals. Many leading brands like Avon, Wella, Chanel, Gillette, Christian Dior, Citrus USA, Giovanni, Gucci Parfums, Nivea, Oriflame, St Ives, and Revlon, etc, manufacture and sell only non-animal tested products. All these companies do not test their finished products on animals but some of them may use animal tested ingredients.What does cosmetics 'testing on animals' mean? All sorts of cosmetic and toiletry products and ingredients are tested on animals, such as perfumes, shampoos, toothpastes, hair dyes, skin creams, make-up or deodorants. The most common tests are eye tests, skin tests and oral toxicity.Become an informed ethical consumer and be sure to use only cosmetics that are not tested on animals! For more information visit: http://caringconsumer.com/resources_companies.asp
