In theanimal rights movement,cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm or kill animals anywhere in the world. Productstested on animals or made from animals are not considered cruelty-free, since these tests are often painful and cause the suffering and death of millions of animals every year.[1][needs update]
The term cruelty-free was first used in this way byLady Dowding who persuaded manufacturers offake furs to use the labelBeauty Without Cruelty and went on to found the charityBeauty Without Cruelty in 1959.[2] The term was popularised in the US in the 1970s byMarcia Pearson who founded the groupFashion With Compassion.[3] Then, in 1998, the United Kingdom started a trend by banning all testing on animals. Many other countries followed their lead soon after.[4]
In 1957Charles Hume andW. M. S. Russell introduced the concept of the three R's in their bookPrinciples of Humane Experimental Technique. These techniques to reduce animals used in tests and their suffering include: replacement (eliminate an animal test altogether), reduction (fewer animals used in test by using statistical analysis) and refinement (making tests less painful).[5]
In 1991 theEuropean Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) was established "to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods which are important to the biosciences and which reduce, refine or replace the use of laboratory animals."[6] Once the ECVAM's Scientific Advisory Committee approves a test it must be used under theAnimal Protection Act, which does not allow the use of animals when an alternative exists.
In 2012,British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection joined forces withNew England Anti-Vivisection Society and theEuropean Coalition to End Animal Experiments to create an international organization to campaign againstanimal testing.BUAV supporterRicky Gervais[7] announced the campaign—now considered a deciding factor in the European decision to bananimal testing for personal-care products. Although companies can still useanimal testing in countries outside Europe, such as China, which requires animal testing on all imported cosmetics - Note that China now has new legislation in place under CSAR which details methods to enter the Chinese cosmetic market without the need for animal testing.[8] TheLeaping Bunny applies to a company's global market, and does not certify product that use animal testing anywhere in the world.
Animals such asrabbits,rats,mice, andguinea pigs are sometimes forced to eat or inhale substances, or have acosmetic ingredient rubbed onto their shaved skin, eyes or ears every day for 28 or 90 days to see if they have anallergic reaction. Then they are killed and cut open to examine the effects the ingredient has on internal organs. These tests are also done with pregnant animals who, after much suffering, are killed along with the fetus. In more prolongedcarcinogen tests, rats are force-fed a cosmetic ingredient over two years, monitored forcancer, and then killed.[9]
“Typically a young rabbit is tightly constrained in a box so that he is unable to move... Clips sometimes hold his eyelids open. Anesthesia is not generally administered. A researcher applies a concentrated substance to the outer layer of the eye and observes over a span days or weeks for responses such as blindness, bleeding, hemorrhaging and ulceration. At the end, the rabbits are generally killed.”
— Megan Erin Gallagher[10]
Primates,dogs, such as theBeagle, andcats are used for invasive experimentation as well. Many laboratories use these species to test drugs, chemicals, and diseases, whether old or new.
As technology developed, outdatedanimal testing is being replaced with quicker, cheaper and more accurate methods. Critics point out that humane alternatives can be slow to implement, costly, and test only one compound at a time.[11] Alternatives have shown positive results. For example,reconstructed human epidermis—which uses human skin donated from cosmetic surgery to replace the rabbitDraize skin test—is more relevant to human reactions. Other methods replace theDraize eye test by usingin vitro (test-tube) human tissue. Computer-based systems allow for isolation of a select tissue or organ to conduct tests in an extremely controlled environment. These tests not only reduce animal testing, but are more precise and accurate at protecting humans from toxic substances.[12] Another cruelty-free option is using ingredients that have already been established as safe, such as the 20,000 ingredients in theEuropean Union database.
Companies now offer a wide range of cruelty-free products such as cosmetics, personal-care products, household cleaners, clothing, shoes, condoms (which are sometimes processed with casein), and candles (which usually useparaffin orbeeswax). Organizations such asPETA, Choose Cruelty Free, Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics,British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and its offshoot organizationCruelty Free International have released lists of cruelty-free products and cruel products to boycott. Since the 1990s theLeaping Bunny has been the only international third-party cruelty-free certification program.
It is important to distinguish between cruelty free andvegan products because while it is common for people to use these two terms interchangeably, there are several key differences.[13] Products that are vegan may not necessarily be cruelty free and vice versa. The cruelty free label only guarantees that the final product and ingredients are not tested on animals, but the product can still contain animal derived ingredients.[14] Similarly, the vegan label only guarantees that the product does not contain animal ingredients but may still have been tested on animals.
National Cruelty-Free Week is an event in theUnited Kingdom every year arranged by theBUAV. The 2006 event was from 17 to 23 July. Other, similar, events include:National Vegetarian Week,UK Vegan Week andWorld Vegan Day, which takes place each year on November 1.
While some manufacturers have begun to label their products as "not tested on animals", "we do not conductanimal testing", "never tested on animals", "againstanimal testing" or "cruelty-free", these labels are confusing and potentially misleading, since there is no clear legal definition as to what they mean.[15] Two organizations,Cruelty Free International andPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, use rabbit icons to verify products as "cruelty-free", resulting in some manufacturers using rabbit icons to intentionally deceive customers into believing that their products do not use animal testing. The symbol of a rabbit is commonly understood by consumers as verifying a product as "cruelty-free", but most consumers cannot easily distinguish the CFI and PETA rabbit logos from other rabbit icons.[16]
