4 Top Cruelty free cosmetics companies

1. Liz Earle

Animal testing? They never do it. Animal products in their cosmetics? ‘None of our ingredients are of animal origin (except beeswax, propolis and manuka honey). All products are suitable for vegetarians,’ says their website

http://uk.lizearle.com/

2. Beauty Without Cruelty

When I first became vegetarian 25 years ago in Scotland, this was the cosmetics brand to trust at a time when other companies didn’t give a monkeys, well about the monkeys, rats, bunnies, cats and dogs they tested their products on.

Their products are Vegan Society Approved and as such suitable for vegetarians too.

http://www.bwcshop.co.uk/

http://www.beautywithoutcruelty.com/

3. Jason Natural Cosmetics

They’re listed on the http://www.leapingbunny.org/  site for good reason.  They don’t test products or ingredients on animals and the only animal product they use is beeswax in a couple of their lip balms. That makes them not only vegetarian, but vegan (if you can without those lip balms).

They even have a handy tool on their website where you can find out where your nearest stockist of their products is http://www.jason-natural.com/store-locator/index.php. Now that’s what you call customer orientated.

4. Neal’s Yard

They promise never to test either their products or the ingredients on animals. And, they have a list of vegan products. Lots of them – 54 pages of them, in fact. I’m in love. Why can’t all companies be this fabulous?

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/

https://us.nyrorganic.com/

Note – You will notice that I have not included The Body Shop. This is because it’s a contentious one as although they are completely cruelty free they are owned by a company who are definitely not, animal testing L’Oreal. 

It’s also come to my attention that they use animal by-products that you wouldn’t expect in their products, like lanolin (comes from sheep’s wool and therefore definitely not vegan) and someone suggested that make up brushes they sell contain pig’s hair. Not sure if that is true or not.

For more companies who are cruelty free, visit http://www.leapingbunny.org/

Or click on this for a downloaded document on cruelty free companies in the UK http://www.buav.org/_lib/userfiles/files/Guides/BUAVA_LittleBook_OnlineVersion_Feb2011v2.pdf

Nasty animal by-products in cosmetics

You don’t want animal stuff in your cosmetics, right? Here’s some of the nasty stuff to look out for in the list of ingredients –

1-Lanolin

2- Carmine/Cochineal – wee insects boiled and crushed to make a colorant.

3-Tallow – from bones. Yuck. Me too.

4. Elastin (from cows).

5. Beeswax/pollen/other bee products. Down to choice for veggies. A no, no for vegans.

6. Collagen – usually comes from fish. Was given something from Maybelline recently, thinking the company was okay only to discover this muck was in it. End result? In the bin. Maybe it’s blooming not Maybelline.

7.Glycerine (glycerin in the USA) can come from animal and vegetable sources. Unless it says a product is suitable for vegans and vegetarians, assume its animal glycerin.

Note - L'Occitane have been removed from my original list after I was advised that they have lost their Humane Society accreditation.
A statement on the company's site reads - 'L'OCCITANE has long been committed to associations such as One Voice or PETA. Also it was one of the first companies to be admitted to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) list in 1997. Yet, this association has decided in December 2011 to remove from its list companies operating in China because Chinese authorities may carry out limited tests when registering products for the local market. At no time has L'OCCITANE practiced these type of tests, but nevertheless has been subjected to this position because L'OCCITANE cannot bring formal evidence that these tests are not carried out by Chinese authorities at any time.'