Yes. I'll come straight out with it. I bought products at The Body Shop yesterday. I'm doing this post not to justify myself but to explain to my readers why we need to think about ethical issues as a whole and not take animal cruelty on by itself.
I like products. I like makeup. I like looking and feeling a certain way. I model and I work in an industry where people are paying me to make them look good. I'd love to be a hippy artist that lived on a self sufficient plot of land who didn't feel the need to get involved in issues such as makeup. But I don't, and I have to make a living to provide for my family and there are certain expectations on what I look like. That's the harsh truth. So I buy products and I don't feel they're something I want to live without.
When I started researching animal testing and cruelty free products, I think I just focused on that one issue. Yes it's incredibly important but when you dig a little deeper it becomes a whole other beast.
We live in a throw away society. A have it all now culture where things are made as cheaply as possible to give us instant gratification because that is what we want. We want it all and we want it now. I'm guilty of this, I live on a budget and yes, I have shopped in Poundland. But these things really are a false economy and a wolf in sheep's clothing. We are kidding ourselves if we think there aren't consequences to us living this way.
These cheap products come at price far greater than animal sacrifice. It's a vicious cycle that not only perpetuates the cruelty issue, it feeds off people who cannot afford other ethical options.
Manufacturers want to make as much money as possible, so they use the cheapest labour and materials possible, this means products are animal tested and workers are paid very little. These workers then go on to buy cheap products because that's all they can afford and the manufacturer keeps up with demand by making more cheap products.......you get the idea.
Any kind of cruelty is wrong but this is the horrible state of the world we live in. If we can be a conscious consumer in as many ways as possible , then we can maybe change attitudes one step at a time.
I hate to get all heavy on a blog which is really supposed to be about pink sparkles and fluffy kittens, but I feel that people should think about how they live and conduct themselves. I don't want to sit here and preach , I'm by no means perfect , but I think it's very easy to get entrenched in one issue without seeing the bigger picture.
Back to the products I mentioned. I have tried pretty much all the cruelty free products in my price range. They didn't work at best and at worst they caused a reaction which then needed an animal tested medical product. Pretty much all the products in my budget range did this PLUS they are all owned by parent companies that still test or have some connection to animal testing. If they didn't have that they were ethically unsound in some way.
And that's why I will continue to shop at The Body Shop. It's not as simple as "they're owned by L'oreal". It goes a whole lot deeper. I shall explain why.
1) The products are made in the U.K, where workers are paid a guaranteed minimum wage, health and safety protocol is followed, environmental standards are high, supports British industry, workers are treated humanely and fairly.
2) BUAV approved. Yes I am critical about this but it's actually a strict lengthly process which involves companies being transparent at every step
3) They use fair traded ingredients which means suppliers are getting a fair deal
4) The stores have to comply with planning regulations meaning that conservation areas and local businesses are protected.
5) The products work for me, which means I'm wasting less, using less products and putting less into the environment and on my face.
You may not agree with me, but I urge you to think about everything and not just one issue. Rome was not built in a day, animal cruelty will not stop because we boycott The Body Shop but shop in Poundland instead. We must view everything from every point of view and make an ethical, informed desicion about where our money goes.
In the end it may be better to be a reasonable thinker, not a pious one xx
(Picture from Google Images)
