While new brands entering the beauty industry adapt to meet consumers’ demands for vegan and cruelty-free products, many legacy brands ignore their responsibility in the fight against animal cruelty.
The 532 billion dollar industry is predicted to grow to 800 billion dollars by 2025. Despite increasing popularity for vegan products and awareness of animal cruelty, many legacy brands such as Clinique, Maybelline, MAC, Benefit and Bobbi Brown continue to test their products on animals.
Nicole Feighan, a makeup artist, based in Jersey, has been using cruelty-free products since she began wearing makeup as a teenager. Her use of cruelty-free make-up stems from the added skin benefits associated with natural products and her acute awareness of animal cruelty.
Since becoming a certified makeup artist, Nicole uses her extensive knowledge of cruelty-free beauty products in her professional work. Her social media platforms provide independent analysis on recommended products and tips on makeup application, like Ombre eyebrows, for her followers.
“We have been using these brands for so many years that for some people, they haven’t even realised that they are not cruelty-free. Now so many people do care about animal rights; new brands are automatically not testing on animals and creating vegan formulas,” stated Nicole.
According to Human Society International, over 100,000 animals suffer and die in experiments every year. Whilst there is no need for animal testing, companies continue to do so as it provides a cheaper alternative and increases profit margins.
Despite various global companies claiming to be cruelty-free, laws in mainland China require testing on animals before selling a beauty product in-store. Therefore, for consumers to know if they are purchasing ethical products, there is a requirement for research before buying.
“What I always do when I see a new brand on the shelf in a department store is check Cruelty-Free Kitty and Ethical Elephant who have created, in alphabetical order, a consolidated list of cruelty-free brands. So, I will just do a quick search to check,” advised Nicole.
Animal rights advocates PETA continue to highlight the issue of animal testing. However, due to rising awareness by professionals such as Nicole, consumers adapt the way they shop and demand more ethical products.
Check out the podcast below where I spoke with Makeup Artist Nicole Feighan on all things Cruelty-Free.
