What Companies Are Still Testing Products On Animals?
While we try to buy the most eco-friendly this, that, and the other thing that we can, do we ever stop to consider if those “good” products are ever tested on animals? Or if some parent companies tell the world at large that they are “sustainable” while they abuse animals in locked-down laboratories? Something I read about cosmetic products tested on animals stirred my interest in looking up some of this information, and I was surprised at what I found. There are still a ton of companies testing their products on animals, and even some that run ads on TV and in magazines talking about how green they are. In fact, a few of them even attend that greenwashing Sustainable Brands conference each year, where they can buy their way into some good PR about being sustainable – all while doing nothing real about it at all. Who could I be talking about? Let’s take a look at a few of them from the “DO” test on animals list:
Clorox – Well, we know bleach isn’t good for us or the earth, right? Well, that doesn’t stop Clorox from advertising bleach as a healthy way to get rid of germs, attending green conferences, and testing their products on animals. Bleach production and use releases dioxin, furans and other organochlorines into the air, and studies have shown a relationship between dioxin exposure and cancer, birth defects, and developmental/reproductive disorders. Add in the damage that it does to the animals they test on, and well – you know the rest.
S.C. Johnson - A “family” company, or so they say. All those ads on TV touting how eco-friendly they are mean absolutely nothing when they make products like Pledge, Off!, Glade, Raid, Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles, and Drano, and also continue to test these products on animals. Another attendee of Sustainable Brands right there.
Unilever – This one hurts, as I loved Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, but I won’t buy it anymore. Unilever bought the company in 2000, and a recent article pointed out that the “natural” ingredients in their ice cream may not be anything of the sort. Is this the parent company stepping in to cut costs on ingredients? Who knows. But throw in the fact that their sustainability bragging sheet says that “15% of our global purchases of tea and palm oil (are) from sustainable sources” (that’s not anything to brag about, guys – 15%?) and that they also continue to test on animals, and you can see the widening gap between what they say they care about and what they actually do about it.
There are many more companies out there who continue to test their products on animals – Clairol, Dial, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Max Factor, Olay, Pantene, Ponds, and Arm & Hammer to name just a few continuing this barbaric practice. If you want to take a look at who else is on the list, you can head over to Caring Consumer and search through their lists of companies that do and that do not test their products or cosmetics on animals. Thankfully, there are way more companies on the DO NOT TEST list, but sadly there are still many on the DO TEST list… and some of these advertise themselves as green and sustainable (and attend sustainability conferences) to the masses. Awareness of these policies is key to making informed decisions and not falling for the factually incorrect marketing campaigns and slogans they want us to believe.
Related posts:
- How To Spot Household Cleaners Not Tested On Animals.
- FDA Is Going To Approve Genetically Engineered Animals For Our Food Chain.
- Fur Industry Still Taking Its Toll On Animals.
- Cloning Animals For Food.
- Johnson & Johnson Going Green With 1,4-Dioxane And Formaldehyde In Products?
Like this post? If so, please consider subscribing to my full feed RSS. Or, if you would prefer, you can subscribe by Email:
I’m confused about the following statement : “Unilever ”“This one hurts, as I loved Ben & Jerry”™s ice cream, but I won”™t buy it anymore. ”
Are you not buying it because the company tests on animals or because the dairy used in making the ice cream creates lots of suffering for dairy cows and their offspring ?
I’m not buying it because Ben & Jerry’s owners still test products on animals, and I refuse to pad their wallets with my money knowing they do so.
I understand that, but is there a difference between animal testing and the suffering of animals to please our taste buds?
If you understood that, why ask what I meant?
I eat meat raised sustainably and have no issue doing so. There is a big difference between that and torturing animals with soap, etc. while keeping them alive.
What is the difference ? In both scenarios we view animals as mere objects. Animals are tortured in animal tests and others are killed to please our pallets . Both outcomes were unnecessary and are easily changed by our choices .
If we truly care for animals we should not only stop using thenm for testing on,but we should also avoid eating them. Seems like a logical conclusion.
There is an enormously huge difference between torturing an animal with chemicals and killing one instantly to feed us. Huge.
I’m sorry, but they both result in the unnecessary suffering and/or death of the animals being used.
Considering that human beings can thrive on a plant-based diet, there is no real justification for killing animal for food.
In the case of ice cream, animal testing from the company owner aside , there is tremendous suffering on the part of the dairy cows being used and the dairy industry makes it possible for the veal (baby cow) industry to exist .
If there is a moral obligation to protect all life from suffering whenever possible , our duty then,is to avoid the use of animals for entertainment , convenience, pleasure or traditional.
I agree with david, I hate animal testing because they do unnecessary tests on animals that make them suffer, some make them go blind, some make them handicapped for the rest of their lives, some survive, but I would rather die than go through what the ones that survive have to go through, some are lucky enough to die quickly, without suffering.
and what do they do with the ones that survive? I don’t know but I can guess, they kill them, whatever they put on them or gave them might “mess up their later tests” if they did other tests.
My family raises a few cows, that we sell the calves of and once every 5 years or so we take one to the, well you know, the slaughter house.
The place that we take them kills them as quickly and without any suffering of the animal.