I contacted QVC last time the brand was on and took ages for replies. They investigated and said Shisedio did not animal test. But that is not to say they don't do what others do and get new ingredients tested on their behalf. Its all the new wonder products everyone goes nuts for new ingredients are tested as the norm. Shiseido own BE as well.
But then going back in time every brand has animal tested at some point.
Many, many companies hide behind the "we don't test our products on animals" statement. What they don't add is that this is only the case because European law now prohibits them from testing the completed products on animals, so they use this to pull the wool over their customers' eyes and shout this loudly whenever someone mentions animal testing. The fact is, though, that not testing the finished product doesn't mean anything at all in the cruelty-free stakes, because most of them use ingredients that have been - and are still being - tested on animals. Most of them use animal-derived ingredients too.
The only way for a company not currently cruelty-free to go truly cruelty-free is to implement a fixed cut-off date. This means that they draw a line on animal testing and commit to not using any ingredient which has been tested on animals since a specific date. They then have their suppliers sign legal agreements committing to not providing any ingredients which have been animal tested since that date. Due to customer demand this is what Marks & Spencer have now done. You can now buy their products knowing that they will never use any new ingredient which has been animal tested, and none of their ingredients will have been animal tested since their cut off date. This is what Liz Earle did.
Some companies say they have a "rolling 5 year cut-off date", meaning they won't use any ingredient which has been animal tested in the past 5 years. This is a complete con because, as they're well aware, it takes at least 5 years for any new "wonder" ingredient to be tested and licenced - so their rolling cut-off date doesn't stop them using any new ingredient that they know has been animal tested. In 5 years time they'll be using ingredients which are being tested on animals in laboratories today. This is just a cynical ploy to fool us into thinking their products are cruelty-free.
The most cynical companies are those like Avon, who loudly put out statements saying that they don't test their products on animals and that they never commission animal testing on any of their ingredients. What they don't say is that they happily use all the ingredients that they know have already been animal tested by somebody else. They're actually saying "we don't abuse animals in our own laboratories, but we support those who do it in theirs" - and they hope that we're all too stupid to understand what they're saying.
If a company the size of Marks & Spencer can do what it takes to become cruelty-free any company could, they just don't care enough to do it. The really sad thing is that if all the majors took the decision to do it, animal testing of cosmetic ingredients could become a thing of the past pretty quickly. Unfortunately the greed of these companies is so great that vivisection is a price they're more than willing to pay. The animals can't stop them, and animals are cheap.
If you want to know whose products are really cruelty-free, sites such as Naturewatch (who publish a cruelty-free shopping guide covering everything, not just cosmetics), the BUAV and The Ethical Consumer give a lot of information. If a product has the BUAV bunny logo on it you're safe - but make sure it's the BUAV bunny because some companies put a rabbit on the bottle which means nothing, in the hope that you'll think it means the product is cruelty-free when it isn't.
The BUAV website has a massive amount of information on animal testing for anyone who wants to learn more.
I'm sorry if I sound preachy, I don't mean to, it's just that I care so much about this and most people have no real idea of the cruelty that's perpetrated by the cosmetics industry. There are literally millions of animal suffering and dying in laboratories at this moment just to provide a new lipstick or eyeshadow colour, or a new texture of mascara - and the cosmetic companies will use every tactic they can think of for you not to know about it, or not to care.
What makes me really mad is that QVC, with it's enormous buying power, could make a massive difference. If QVC on both sides of the Atlantic put pressure on the companies to stop animal testing they would have to listen - if only for economic reasons. And more of us would buy cosmetics from QVC so they'd benefit too.
An animal dies every 6 seconds in a British laboratory, and approximately 80% of all experiments are done without any form of anaesthetic. Can anybody really believe that this is ok in this age of alternatives?
