Hate Animal Testing? the Cruelty-Free Beauty Guide You Need to See

By Leeann Duggan, Refinery29

If you're confused about the whole cruelty-free cosmetics thing - you're definitely not alone. Thanks to pressure from PETA and other animal-rights groups, many cosmetics companies now refuse to test their products on animals - thus earning "cruelty-free" status. But the modern, globalized beauty market is making it very enticing for brands to abandon their cruelty-free ways. See, the Chinese government actually requires all cosmetics sold in China to be tested on animals - meaning that many American and EU companies are reverting to their old, inhumane ways to get a piece of that lucrative market.

So, on behalf of bunnies everywhere, PETA's launching a major campaign to change Chinese law - an uphill battle, but a noble one for sure. Instead of old-school protests, PETA's tackling China's problematic laws with good ol' fashioned diplomacy - creating a plan to make Chinese cosmetics standards cruelty-free, and funding cruelty-free training laboratories. PETA's efforts are paying off - China has now adopted a plan to implement animal-free testing methods within five years. (That sound you hear is millions of bunnies breathing a sigh of relief.)

In the meantime, PETA's also created a handy guide to which cosmetics companies are truly cruelty-free...and which ones ain't. There are some surprises on the list and we were bummed to see more than a few of our fave brands are still making guinea pigs out of bunnies, mice, and, well, guinea pigs. The guide is a must-read for all you socially-conscious makeup mavens out there (and yeah, that's Alec Baldwin's much-younger, yoga-teaching paramore Hilaria Baldwin on the cover).

Wanna know if the lipstick you love makes the cut...or if it's time to start searching for a new fire-engine red? Download the guide, or search online here, and start being a much better-informed buyer...for the bunnies' sake.


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