A couple months ago I made the big decision to go cruelty free. It was a big step for me considering that I had little knowledge on the topic. Therefore I wanted to come on here to document my journey on going cruelty free, and hopefully inspire you to also make a change.
As a little background story- I was aware about animal testing, but I never really knew what that meant. I probably thought that a group of bunnies had their makeup done, a funny picture but nothing harmful at all. It never occurred to me that animal testing actually meant injecting chemicals or pouring acid on an innocent animal only to watch them suffer to their deaths. More than a hundred MILLION animals are being tortured each year because of animal testing. It isn't just rabbits that are being tested on; dogs, cats, rats, mice, monkeys, and many more are being abused. The facts are more shocking than I make it seem, but I can't conjure up the right words to describe how horrible animal testing really is.
Taking on this new lifestyle will have to require some time and dedication, so as of right now being "cruelty free" is only my goal and not yet reality. There are far too many items that I own that are NOT cruelty free. I will not purge those items for it would be far too expensive. Instead, I will be slowly using them up and swapping them for cruelty free options (which I will share with you in future posts). Starting the journey, I have realized that things can get overwhelming when diving into the whole cruelty free realm. So I have decided to only go cruelty free in my skincare, hair-care, and cosmetics.
Now that you know why I am going cruelty free, I wanted to add a a disclaimer- I am not labeling myself as "cruelty free" and I do not want to be labeled as "cruelty free". Cruelty free means so much more than using products that aren't tested on animals. Cruelty free even goes beyond being a vegan. Think about it, there are farmers who don't receive the treatment and pay they deserve. Many of them are growing the fruits and vegetables that you eat on a daily basis. There are factory workers, many of them children, around the world who work hard everyday yet they can't afford to feed their families. They are the ones who sew clothing that you can find in any clothing store (which explains how some brands can sell their clothes for really cheap). Not to mention that slavery is still an issue to this day! Forced labor for all the things above.
In a nutshell, all I am saying is that civil rights is just as important as animal rights. It isn't just about WHAT is in the products, but also HOW it was made and WHO made it. Those are only a few reasons why I can't label myself as "cruelty free". GOING cruelty free, however, is different to me. It means that I am being more aware about these kinds of issues and doing something about it. So from now on I will do my research on the work ethnics of companies before purchasing from them. However, companies are very sneaky at hiding that kind of information, and unfortunately a lot of goods on the market haven't been made using good ethics. Therefore, I can only do so much. It isn't in my hands to stop all cruelty in the world, but informing others about it...that I can do.
Although I have done my fair share on research, I do advise that you do some of your own research because if I had only learned one thing, it would be that ignorance is NOT bliss. Many of us are privileged to have access to this kind of information, all we have to do is take a little time to look for it. With it we can change the world.
XO,
Meow Berry
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