"This product not tested on animals"

In My Humble Opinion
1

My wife and I got Clairol Herbal Essences for shampoos. Unfortunately, no orgasms were obtained by the mere fact of showering. I must not be following the “lather, rinse, repeat” instructions or something.

But, I digress. The bottle is obviously targeted for liberal “save the whales” types, with a bulleted list saying “we recycle, we don’t test on animals, etc. etc.” But, come on. This is Clairol. This isn’t some mom-and-pop organization that said “oh, this is bad, so we’re not going to do this.” It’s not like this is company wide (although I can’t cite that on their company website). PETA does talk about this issue at http://www.peta.org/mall/cc/ccdonttest.html

So, my questions are:

  1. How many people actually look for the “this product not tested on animals?”
  2. Am I just being a cynic, or is this a shameless pandering technique to absolve some guilt on our parts?
  3. Ultimately, how effective is this?

I realize that is this is a question, a poll, and a debate (and possibly a rant), so I’ll drop it in IMHO and let the wind of the Moderators blow it where it may.

2

I used to look very intently when I was in college; these days I mostly stick to certain companies that I know don’t test on animals. I even used to bring a small pocket reference guide along shopping so that I could tell - it was a regularly updated book, IIRC, so there was a market for people who wanted to know what was up with their beauty products.

I guarantee you that the label is on there because they think it will help sales, at least inasmuch as the casual consumer who feels vaguely bad about animal testing will then be more likely to buy it. So you can certainly be a cynic about that.

Haven’t the faintest how effective it is, but I at least know that I’ve changed my buying habits around this issue.

3

I don’t usually look for the label, like you said; it isn’t usually company wide (even the Body Shop admitted that while they labelled products as being not tested on animals, that didn’t mean that they hadn’t tested the ingredients on them, just the finished product). That and as far as things go, in my (probably very naive way) I sort of think that hair products being tested on animals is not as bad as some of the other things that happens to them.
If I was a little beagle puppy sitting the lab, and some guy in a white coat came in and said “Okay, who wants to try some shampoo, and who wants to be strapped upside on a table and be dissected without anesetic?” I would go for the lather, rinse, repeat.

4

AH, I’m glad Magayuk remarked on the fact that to phrase the claim in that particular way ought to leave one asking |"yes, but what about any individual ingredients of the product.

Good point, though, better shiny shampooed beagles* than snoking-addicted beagles. BUT, then again, what if the deliiberately putit in the eyes of the beagles?
*Hehehe - I had SO much trouble retyping that so as not to be talking about “bagels” - daft thing is, I don;'t even eat bagels - it must be a sort of non-specific hunger!

5

Despite all the moaning in the commercials, the ads promise only “a totally organic experience.” Since you missed the spelling joke, :wink: could it be that the bottle says, "this product not tested on annuals (such as marigolds?):smack:

Besides, with all the moaning the beagles and bunnies would do, how could the labs tell if the shampoo hurt their eyes?:stuck_out_tongue:

6

Okay, you need to be really careful about this if you’re the sort of person who cares. I regularly check labels, and I subscribe to a newsletter that publishes which products made by which companies test on animals in any regard, including ingredient testing. I have even called up companies to get information.* PETA can actually be a good source of information in this area. (Although don’t trust too much else they might say- they’ve been known to fiddle with the facts for their own ends, too.)

Yes, those labels are there to increase sales. Yes, there are people who care and check regularly. Yes, some companies lie, or at least bend the truth a bit. For the past 30 or so years, consumers have become more concerned about what is actually going on with the products they buy, but they are not on average any more educated about this than they ever were. So sticking a label on your product that says “not tested on animals” can actually increase sales in some markets, but may not be strictly true. And this is plenty good enough for most people; companies have become more conscious of their public image with the green crowd and don’t want to bend the truth too far lest someone look too closely. (I suppose they could be slammed for false advertising otherwise, even though they’re not technically lying.)

Many consumer beauty products are still tested on animals, it’s true. Skin and eye irritation tests are still going on, and I know some products are even tested for carcinogenic effects. Some companies, however, have moved away from animal testing for several reasons, such as a change in company policy, a move to target the “green” market, or simple economic reasons, as building and maintaining adequate animal labs is an expensive proposition.

The best way to get accurate information is still to check around with various watchdog groups and update your info every few months. But it’s best to pick a group you can trust and has a good track record. Checking PETA is a good starting point, but do more research, as those people are 1) crazy; and 2) not above outright lying, especially if they’ve got another one of their interminable lawsuits going on. Various environmental groups also provide this information, and if you really want to get into it, trying searching the internet for trade journals.

*Never do this unless you have a few hours to spare and don’t mind being put repeatedly on hold, transferred through about 6 public relations offices, and making people very uncomfortable by asking lots of questions. On the upside, if you do call up a company and ask for info, they may send you free samples or coupons to get you to stop calling. Calling up a “green-friendly” company will get you plenty of free samples and coupons, but also a long speech about animal rights and environmental concerns, and probably a request for donations to their favorite charity group. You’ve been warned.

7

I make every attempt to only purchase products which are not tested on animals. This can make life a bit difficult sometimes but I believe it’s definately worth the effort. Just in the last ten or so years public pressure has forced companies into changing their practices quite a bit.

I must admit when I first decided to stop buying products that were either tested on animals or the animal died or suffered in some way to make the product, I was very cynical about how companies were labelling their products. Initially, “not tested on animals” wasn’t always a solid guarantee.

It’s much harder now though for companies to get away with ambiguous labelling but it still comes down to a matter of trust. As PETA and other similar organisations have stated, any company that publically announces and states in writing that it doesn’t test on animals would face a P.R. disaster and legal action if it were caught out misrepresenting it’s policies. It just wouldn’t be worth it.

8

I think it’s mostly an advertising technique. They do it because it makes their products more appealing. Besides, most of the ingredients probably don’t have to be tested anymore anyway; there’s a pretty large body of research out for most of them, and they can just go straight to consumer research type studies.

9

One of the shampoos I used to use fairly regularly was actually designed and originally marketed to horse owners. The instructions on it included mixing it with a bucket of water and using a brush to apply and scrub with. This could be bought at the local feed store, and it actually was a shampoo for animals. For a while it was pretty popular and inspired some knock-offs. The actual product was called “Mane 'n Tail”. It got quite popular and one of the knockoffs was called “Magical Mane”. They imitated the bottle, and made it look like it really was the horse shampoo that had been raved about in beauty circles.

At the very bottom of the bottle was this little disclaimer which belied their claims of being horse shampoo…

“This product not tested on animals.”

Enjoy,
Steven

10

Actually- I DO care, and I care a lot. I WANT the product to be tested on animals. Of course, in a humane & safe way. Better on a “beagle” tham my child or me.

If I can help it- I don’t buy products that are not fully tested. I want my products to be safe, thankyouverymuch.

That being said, taking a rabbit, sewing open his eye, and drippling full strength shampoo in it- as was very rarely done in the past- is not humane. But I don’t see the harm of giving a few bunnies a shampoo or a hundred with a product before it hits the market. If it is supposed to be safe for us- why should it not be safe for use on bunnies or beagles?

11

Well, in some cases, animals and humans respond differently to certain chemicals - although I am thinking here more of drugs than I am of your standard ordinary shampoo.

One point that was brought up was that often the tests have already been conducted, so if you wanted to include product X at 3.78% w/w in your final product, it’s likely quite easy to find MSDS and other references telling you what animal and human responses were to that dosage of that compound.

I actually feel safer when I know the product has been thoroughly tested on animals AND humans, although in some cases I will pick up the bottle that says "not tested on animals"over the alternate clone just for the feel-good value. That said, however, other than shampoo and shaving cream and soap (the basics) I dont buy cosmetics, so this is actually quite easy to do. As for meds, I don’t take the time to look. I assume all market products have made it through all 3 phases of clinical trials ( including animal testing).

12

I don’t refuse to use a product if I don’t see a “not tested on animals” label. I do, however, prefer to use a product if it does have that label. For instance, I like Bonnie Bell lipstick for the following reasons, in order of importance:

  1. Looks good
  2. Tastes good
  3. Not tested on animals
  4. Smells good