CRUEL PRODUCTS (& COMPANIES THAT TEST ON ANIMALS)

I know most people, even women, get annoyed by the Feminist harangue, so in today's post I'll only focus on the beauty standards women have been pressured into, as well as the companies that target us. We (or at least 'I') live in a world where women are pressured into gender roles: look good, be quiet, and take care of the cleaning. We are targeted throughout the day with advertisements telling us we need to buy this, use this, wear that, eat that, and you will look more attractive, be successful, and will finally have that guy approach you...

Advertisements are so deceitful, as they tactfully prey on our unhappiness and insecurities. All along, these same subliminal messages make us feel unfulfilled, in the first place. From the time you wake, you're bombarded with fast food commercials telling you their meals will help you lose weight (or at least satisfy your hunger until 10am.) Then by noon, you have already seen 10 different TV commercials, magazine ads, website ads, or news articles begging you to buy weight loss pills, exercise DVDs, and a month supply of pre-packaged meals to lose weight. Then, when you come home from your stressful job, and bills piling up on your kitchen table, you skirmish through TV channels, just to come across advertisements for depression pills, boner pills, and anti-aging creams. On top of that, women are targeted in TV commercials for cleaning products (which are toxic, unsafe to ingest, and MUST be avoided by kids.)

Beauty Without Cruelty is a brand I use!!

With that being said, and all that aside, women and MEN are equally pressured into gender expectations; but We should try to be more critical of the products and companies that are targeting us, in the media. We do NOT want to be fooled by companies that are marketing off of our vulnerability. Not only that, we should not EXPLOIT ANIMALS WHILE DOING IT. Women should be especially critical of beauty companies that use animals to test their products as well as contain animal by-product. It's very easy to search if a company is cruelty-free, but I have taken some of the hard work out of that process, by providing you with a list of companies I found that TEST ON ANIMALS.

Companies That Do Test on Animals (& Their SUBSIDIARIES)

Johnson & Johnson (Acuvue, Ambi, Aveeno, Band-Aid, Carefree, Clean & Clear, K.Y., Listerine, Lubriderm, Neutrogena, Purell, ROC, Rogaine, Skin ID, )

Reckitt Benckiser (Air Wick, Clearasil, Resolve, Rid-X, Spray 'n Wash, Veet, Woolite)

Revlon (Almay)

Procter & Gamble (Always, Aussie, Christina Aguilera Perfumes, Clairol, Crest, DOLCE & GABBANA, Downy, Febreze, Gillette Co., Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences, GUCCI fragrances, Iams, Lacoste Fragrances, OLAY, Nice 'n Easy, Pampers, PANTENE, Puffs, SCOPE, SECRET, SK-II, Tide, Vicks, Vidal Sasson, ZEST)

GlaxoSmithKline (Aquafresh, Sensodyne)

Church&Dwight (Arm & Hammer, Close-up, Kaboom, Nair, OxiClean)

Clorox (Armor All, Ever Clean, Formula 409, Fresh Step, Glad, Green Works, Pine-Sol, Scoop Away, S.O.S.)

Avon Products, Inc.

Unilever (Axe, Dove, Lux, Ponds, Signal, Suave, Sunsilk, Vaseline)

Bic Corporation

Estée Lauder (American Beauty, Aramis, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and Bumble, Clinique, Coach, Donna Karan, M.A.C., Tommy Hilfiger)

L'Oreal (Biothern, Cacharel, Garnier, Giorgio Armani, Lancôme, Maybelline, Raulph Lauren fragrances, Redken, SoftSheen)

Pfizer (Chapstick)

Schering-Plough (Coppertone)

Dial Corporation (Dial soap, Purex, Renzuit, Right Guard, Soft & Dri, Soft Scrub

S.C. Johnson (Drano, Fantastik, Glade, Nature's Source, Off, Pledge, Oust, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout, Windex)

Elizabeth Arden

MARY KAY

WALGREENS

In the future, I will provide you with a list of companies that are Vegan and Cruelty-free. You can go to Peta's Beauty Without Bunnies section to find cruelty-free companies. Also, if you're unsure a company is Vegan or cruelty-free, check their website for the Cruelty-free logo (at right) or the Peta logo. You can also contact the company by email if they use animal derived ingredients in their products or if they test on animals.

However, I believe products are a waste of money, and can be substituted with healthy lifestyle choices. For example, you would not need cosmetics if you regularly sun-bathed, exercised, and ate a vegan diet.

Remember to read labels, ingredients, and be critical of the companies you are supporting. If a company is testing on animals or using animal derived ingredients, then they are supporting an industry of animal abuse, and you are too. It is best to avoid most products and large corporations because you do not want your hard-earned money going to a millionaire...
Check out my posts on living green, all-natural, and VEGAN here:

Basic Skin and Hair Needs & the Foods that Work

One way to be a green, earth-friendly chick (Part I)

One way to be a green, earth-friendly chick (Part II)

The Feminist's Diet & the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards