Animal testing has been standard in the beauty industry for decades, with hundreds of makeup companies still practising it today. Yet technology has come a long way since then, I mean just take a look at self-driving cars and 3D printing, and this begs the question, is animal testing still plausible?

The answer is no.

These days, there are numerous alternative methods to cosmetics testing that don’t involve the inhumane treatment of animals. L’Oréal, one of the biggest cosmetic companies in the world has contributed millions of dollars to the development of alternative methods to assess skin allergy and eye irritation. Companies such as LUSH and hundreds of other cruelty-free makeup brands focus on using long-established and reliable ingredients, as well as using cell culture testing, where products that are intended for humans are actually tested on humans. There are also computer simulation programs where virtual testing predicts the likelihood of ingredients causing irritation in humans. All these new state-of-the-art testing methods are providing faster, cheaper and more relevant results compared to traditional animal testing.

Animal testing is slowly becoming a thing of the past, especially with progress in European Union governments banning the use of animals and even the Chinese market developing stricter legislation. However, it is still up to us consumers to let these big brands know that cruelty-free is the way to be.

By Kellie