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Halle Fiagle
Nathan Cole
English 2010-016
Position Final
10 December 2014
The Ugly Truth of Beauty
Is your vanity more important than anothers life? Many dont realize that they are
answering yes because they are supporting animal testing by purchasing common cosmetics sold
in stores. When hearing the term cosmetics, you might think of makeup, but it encompasses so
much more. The FDA has defined cosmetics as articles intended to be applied to the human
body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without
affecting the body's structure or functions (Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing, 2014). Examples of
products included in the cosmetic category are lotions, lipsticks, nail polishes, hair dyes,
shampoos, etc. Animal testing can come into play when ensuring these products are safe for
human use. Cosmetics should not be an excuse to harm animals. There are alternatives for
animal testing that have been used and are efficient. Around the world, countries have laws in
place against testing on animals for cosmetic products and we should follow suit.
No one wants to think that their beauty regimen comes at the cost of suffering animals,
but more often than not, it is.
More than 70 percent of Americans oppose testing personal care products on animals,
according to an independent survey our organization (Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine) recently commissioned. Sixty-one percent said that testing these

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products on animals should be illegal. And 78 percent agreed that developing alternatives
to animal testing is important (Sullivan, 2012).
People dont want their products tested on animals, but fail to realize that the top
companies they buy from do. Johnson & Johnson, Revlon, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble are
labels, just to name a few (Companies That do Test on Animals: A-Z, 2014).
What is most bothersome about animal testing is that it hurts the animals. The FDA has
guidelines for product safety, which must be tested. Some companies choose to test out the
safety of their products on animals. They test the animals for problems such as: eye irritation,
skin irritation, skin sensitization, carcinogenicity, genetic toxicity, neurotoxicity, reproductive
toxicity, acute oral systemic toxicity, and more (Elmore et al, 2013). The way these are run are
by putting droplets into animals eyes or fur, or even injecting chemicals into their bodies. There
is even a lethal dose test run to see what amount of the product becomes deadly (Fact Sheet:
Cosmetic Testing, 2014).
As stated before, the majority of Americans dont want their cosmetics tested on animals,
and they dont have to be. Science has progressed to the point that animal testing shouldnt have
to be an option. Advanced methods used for product testing can replace an actual test animal.
Kristie Sullivan from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine shares an example of
this. ...artificial human skin and eye models grown in the laboratory can mimic the potential
dangers a new substance might pose to human skin and eyes more accurately than rabbit tests.
The Humane Society of the United States claims in their Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing that there
are roughly 50 tests approved that do not involve animals and are more effective and costefficient.

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Some chemicals needed to make cosmetics have already been proven to be safe for
consumers. Monica Engebretson of The Huffington Post states that, ...there are thousands [sic]
established ingredients that are "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS), and therefore do not
require further testing.
Around the world, the subject of animal testing has varying responses. Unfortunately,
Chinas government upholds a mandatory testing for cosmetics. Even if the manufacturers
themselves do not test their products on animals, products are pulled from shelves in-store to test
(Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing, 2014). On the other end of the spectrum, the European Union has
banned the sale of animal-tested cosmetics since 2009 (EU Bans Sale of All Animal-Testing
Cosmetics, 2013). Last year, India became the first Asian country to ban the products
(Engebretson, 2014). So what applies to our country? In three states, California, New Jersey and
New York, there is a law that mandates manufacturers to use alternative methods to test their
products. For the rest of the country, there are no laws in place that state to try alternative
methods before resorting to animal testing. There are however, people trying to change this. A
bill called the Humane Cosmetics Act presented by U.S. Representative Jim Moran would ban
animal testing for cosmetics in our country for one year, followed by banning the sale of animal
tested products being imported. Moran chose this because it is a similar approach that the
European Union took towards their movement.
Some may say that humans are the superior race, so why should we risk our safety just to
have a rodent live? Yes, there was an issue of health problems and fatality occurring up until
1938 when product safety testing was nonexistent. This not only affected cosmetics, but cleaning
supplies, chemicals, art supplies, etc. Consumers had and incident with eyelash dye causing

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blindness and one death. A cough medication caused over 100 deaths (FAQs, 2014). Weve
come a long way from that day in age. While product safety testing is certainly needed for the
wellbeing of society, we have the knowledge and skill to make products from chemicals that
have already been tested and find an alternative way if they need to be tested.
The animal kingdom does not deserve to be punished so that we can increase our pride.
Were better than that; smarter than that. Cosmetic product testing is unnecessary. We have so
many chemicals available that are already deemed safe for customer use. We should support the
bills to ban animal testing and not purchase products made from companies that do.

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Works Cited
"Companies That Do Test on Animals: A-Z." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Peta.
Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Elmore, Eugene, Rollin, Bernard, and Ward, Sherry. "The Use of Animals in Product Testing."
NAVS: Advancing Science Without Harming Animals. National Anti-Vivisection Society,
1 Jan. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Engebretson, Monica. "Bill to Ban Animal Testing for Cosmetics in the United States
Introduced." Huff Post Impact. The Huffington Post, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
"EU Bans Sale of All Animal-Tested Cosmetics." BBC News: Europe. BBC, 11 Mar. 2013.
Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
"Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing." The Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society
of the United States, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
"FAQs." California Society for Biomedical Research. CSBR. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Sullivan, Kristie. "No More Excuses for Testing Cosmetics on Animals." Pro Quest: Sirs.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.