I have never disagreed with PETA or self-proclaimed animal rights activists because I know the raising and treatment of animals has always been horrific and sadistic, and testing chemicals on animals is extremely revolting. I encourage you to read some horror literature on some of these testings (or not, if you visualize things really easily) but I am demanding that anyone that reads this BOYCOTTS any products and companies that dare to use their human superiority over other creatures and pour acidic chemicals into rabbits eyes (also come hug a tree with me).
Bu seriously, it ain't (gosh darn) that hard. In South Africa, my circle of friends (okay, honestly the wealthy elite that can afford ridiculously high priced shampoo) buy stuff from Woolworths. Woolworths' eggs are all free-range (although there was some suspicion a few years ago as to whether their products made with eggs used free ranged eggs - I'm not sure if this is true (sorry Woolies) but I'm also too lazy to look it up so decide for yourselves!), and all of their own brand cosmetics and bathroom thingys are all "beauty without cruelty" which is fantastic and I think their version of the "no-name brand" is pretty affordable.
A few really nice cosmetic companies that do not test their products and ingredients on animals (which is quite worrying as why do we have the chemicals in majority of our products are cousins to chemicals that burn hair off dogs and what not - what if there is an odd batch and you end up with no hair? You then deserve it, you selfish swine. Buy animal friendly stuff dammit) include Inglot and Elizabeth Arden and of course the Body Shop which also use free-trade ingredients thus respecting and supporting the communities that supply the factories with raw materials. All bloody expensive companies for a broke student (poor me, living in a house in the rich bit of Cape Town) but really really worth it as all are high quality and delicious.
But my current favorite "beauty against cruelty" cosmetics and bathroom things company is Lush. All of their stuff is handmade so that is where the testing is held - on real human hands (okay just had another thought - is a cat's skin the exact same as a humans? Does a cat work like a human? Is a cat a human? No. So if it works on a cat, how the hell do they know it's not going to burn a hole through our faces?). All of their stuff is also damn fresh - holy shit the smell when you walk in about a kilometers radius of a Lush shop is heavenly.
Listen to this and be persuaded by the magical world of friendly and happy cosmetics:
"We believe in making effective products from fresh, organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.We invent our own products and fragrances. We make them fresh by hand using little or no preservatives or packaging, using onlyvegetarian ingredients, and tell you when they were made.We believe in buying ingredients only from companies that do not commission tests on animals and in testing our products on humans.We believe in happy people making happy soap, putting our faces on our products and making our mums proud.We believe in long candlelit baths, sharing showers, massage, filling the world with perfume and in the right to make mistakes, loseeverything and start again.We believe our products are good value, that we should make a profit and that the customer is always right.* We also believe words like fresh and organic have honest meaning beyond marketing" (From the Lush Website)
They want to make their mom's proud and want you to enjoy a delicious and caring bath time. Their stuff is pretty pricey depending on you budget and what you are buying (I bought a Figs and Leaves soap for a friend the other day and almost projectile vomited Exorcist-style onto the cashier's face when they announced that it would be R155 for a block of soap)(they tend to price per kilogram)(I also lied and said it was for my sister whom loved figs which is bullshit but I panicked and wanted to be cool in front of the cool staff and not someone who just buys their friend a nearly R200 gift). But it is so worth it as you feel like a fairy princess and know that your stuff is organic and good quality and animal friendly.Holy shit their stuff is also so much fun - seriously check out their website or a shop near you (flicks you the hand guns and a smile as the screen fades to black).
Hold on one more sec - Lush is seriously one of my favorite shops and you can get literally all cosmetic things there - from face masks to dry shampoo, from custom-made lipstick and mascara to play-dough soap, from fragrances to hand-moisturizer bar things. Some really great stuff is going on in Lush and I highly recommend you go check their stuff out as I have not yet been dissapointed and am hoarding most of my Lush stuff as to me it is too special to waste on an average bath(I love them so much *cries*) (also I have used up tons of their stuff including shampoo and bathbombs which turn your bath water into a rainbow so don't hate on me k)(Gott in Himmel that took forever)(The End).
*I really wish I could go full vegetarian (while still eating animal whole-products from well treated and free range furry children) but alas my mood and mind need some kind of sustainable (animal) protein and I sadly have to eat chicken and fish so I don't murder my family. I really try my best to not eat mammals (I have always found the idea of eating a fucking baby lamb revolting, honestly I don't know how anyone - including my family - can stomach the concept. Anyway.) as in the book there is some reference to how cows, when in the slaughterhouse, change the color of their meat from fear. How true this is, I'm not sure, but it has put me off beef for eternity.
