While in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we often forget the production of makeup is not as cute as the packaging makes it seem. The worst part about animal cruelty in makeup products is that it's not necessary, but Boafo Beauty pledges to be a cruelty-free brand despite the historic standing of the practice in the makeup industry.
Brief History
Animals have been subjected to being tested for cosmetic purposes since the 1900s, where there was no regulation regarding the safety of drugs and cosmetics. This changed in 1937 when the S. E. Massengill Pharmaceutical Company was found responsible for a mass poisoning that killed 100 Americans. This sparked the United States Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act which ultimately lead to the use of animal testing to ensure human safety.
Typically, mice and rabbits are used to test chemicals and ingredients within cosmetic products but there has been a recent expansion to kittens and even smaller dogs. It's a known fact that within this practice, a single ingredient can lead to a minimum of 1400 animal lives lost to test it.
In the U.S only a few states; California, Illinois, and Nevada have implemented a ban on this practice, but we’re still awaiting a national ban. Several huge companies such as Maybelline, MAC, and Estee Lauder use still animal testing as well as most designer makeup brands as well. So rather than buying a highlight from Maybelline, try our new Monarch Highlighting Palette (as displayed to the right).
Why it’s Unethical
We’ve made it to a point in society where the testing from previous decades and the products and chemicals already approved are vast. Companies could easily pull from this list and create several new products with previously tested chemicals to keep up with consumer demands. But instead, they adopt a false sense of innovation and newness that doesn’t exist and ultimately hurts animals.
Animals experience a caged existence, burns, toxins, and brain damage among other things because of the effects of capitalism. Capitalism aside, we never really know if animals actually help test the products they’re being tortured to prove. The reactions vary from species to species and are often very far off from the reaction that a human may have. Take the Draize eye test: this is where a substance is placed in an animal’s eyes to test irritability, so what a bunny finds irritable is not the same for a human.
In 2021, there are tons of technology that allow us to test for safety in a non-cruel manner yet animal testing exists anyway.
Boafo Beauty’s Pledge to be Cruelty-Free
Boafo Beauty pledges to be cruelty-free because of the reasons and examples listed above. We firmly believe that no living creature should be subjected to endless torture for something such a makeup. During an interview with our founder, Nelly Ghansah, she specifically emphasized this. As she so eloquently put it, “It doesn't feel ethical, it was important to me to create the most ethical brand possible in terms of animal cruelty, affordability, and sustainability.”
Ethics is always our top priority, right next to community outreach and charity, so being an animal cruelty-free brand was a no-brainer!
Comments