Taking a Stand Against Animal Testing in Cosmetics
Hi folks – Thought it was time to re-run this article since many new readers aren’t aware of my stance and have asked for a list. This is as updated as I know of from researching online, so if it’s not completely accurate, I apologize, I do the best with the information I can get!
-Kelly
Many of you know this but for those who don’t, I’m an animal lover. A huge animal lover. In fact I probably like animals more than most people. 
From the smallest little mouse to the largest elephant, I love all creatures big & small.
Having said that this is an incredibly hard post for me to write. I have decided to take a stand against cosmetic companies that still test their products on animals. This goes for companies who are and are not owned by other larger conglomerates. I will not be purchasing any new products from these brands and won’t be reviewing them on my website either. This is not to say I am throwing away everything I already have, I just won’t be buying them going forward.
There are a couple reasons this is so hard for me the main one being because of where I work. I work for a large Biotechnology company that makes cancer and other drugs. They do test on animals. When I started working here years ago it wasn’t even a subject that crossed my mind. I was about to lose the job I had and this was a great opportunity. Now I think about it a lot and it most definitely bothers me. I cannot control the fact that I need to work and make money to live, but I can control what I buy and what I recommend to others.
The reason I am telling you this is because I want to be up front and honest from the start. I know some people know I work for a Biotech company and most Biotech/Pharmaceutical companies, if not all, test on animals, so I don’t want any snarky comments about what a hypocrite I am.
I am not a vegetarian, I do eat meat. I try to buy as organically and humanely as possible when buying meat and eggs. There have been many times when I thought of becoming vegetarian (partially thanks to the book Fast Food Nation) but it just doesn’t work. I really wish I had been brought up vegetarian so I didn’t even know what meat was like to begin with.
I also wear leather products. I do NOT wear fur, snakeskin, alligator skin or any skin that wasn’t also used for food. I am open to the idea of not buying leather anymore, but it’s REALLY hard with shoes for me because I can’t wear most plastic (or pleather) type shoes, they just kill my feet.
Another reason this is hard is because as I started really looking into this idea, I discovered that a lot of brands that have been my favorites for many years are on PETA’s “Do Test On Animals” list. Neutrogena for instance has long been my favorite facial sunscreen and before that Oil Of Olay, but I won’t be buying these anymore. Also RoC my favorite anti-wrinkle cream is on the bad list (SOB)!
Welcome! My name is Kelly and Vampy Varnish is a cruelty-free beauty blog.
