several years ago i made a commitment (in my own head) to try and only use cruelty-free beauty products. i can’t say i’m against all animal testing; after all, i’m alive and healthy today (as are many of us) because of medical treatments developed with the use of lab animals. but i decided that i didn’t need to be beautiful at the expense of a lab animal’s pain and suffering. if my mascara was developed by repeatedly poking some bunny rabbit in the eye with a mascara wand to see if it went blind, then i didn’t need that brand of mascara quite so much after all. i don’t use a lot of products, so i don’t mind paying a premium for the ones i do use in exchange for a slightly clearer conscious.

but if you’ve ever read the labels on any random selection of products in, say, a walgreens or a duane reade, you’ll know that it’s damn hard to find stuff that’s made without animal testing. for a long time, one of my great go-to sources for cruelty-free products has been the UK-based chain Body Shop. so boy was i crushed when my roommate told me that they were recently purchased by L’Oreal.

Body Shop, of course, claims that they’re still the same company. the products they sell are still cruelty-free, they donate company proceeds to causes like campaigns against domestic violence and the promotion of sustainable agribusiness and fair trade. but isn’t that all hypocritical when the parent company, which is making the money, and ultimately, pulling the strings, doesn’t embrace those same policies for their other product lines?

help me out here, comment box: do you have a good source for cruelty-free cosmetics and beauty products? what of the moral dilemma facing me? should i boycott Body Shop?