by Anastasiia Savina
Concerns about animal testing in the beauty industry have been growing in recent years, and many cosmetic brands now highlight cruelty-free and vegan labels directly on their packaging. A visit to a Superdrug store shows how visible these claims have become on beauty shelves.
Large displays in the store promote brands that claim their products are not tested on animals. For example, the cosmetics brand e.l.f. clearly displays cruelty-free and vegan symbols above its makeup stand, emphasising ethical production.
Among the products observed in the store were:
e.l.f. Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm, labelled vegan and cruelty-free.
photo by Anastasiia Savina
Studio London Flaunt Flawless Liquid Blush, part of Superdrug’s own beauty line.
photo by Anastasiia Savina
Studio London Powder Bronzer, displaying cruelty-free labelling.
photo by Anastasiia Savina
Studio London Liquid Highlighter, also sold under Superdrug’s cosmetics range.
photo by Anastasiia Savina
Garnier Ultimate Blends Banana Hair Food Shampoo, promoted as a vegan formula and cruelty-free product.
photo by Anastasiia Savina
Dove Body Love Visible Glow Self-Tan Lotion, part of Dove’s body care range widely available in UK stores.
photo by Anastasiia Savina
Despite the growing visibility of cruelty-free labels, not all consumers actively check them when buying beauty products.
Emily Smith, 24, a marketing assistant from Islington, said she rarely thinks about whether cosmetics are tested on animals when shopping.
“I usually just buy something that looks good or something I saw online,” she said. “I didn’t really know which brands are cruelty-free.”
Another shopper, Sarah Malik, 31, a primary school teacher, said ethical production is becoming more important for her.
“If I see the cruelty-free symbol, I definitely prefer to buy it,” she said. “It feels better knowing animals weren’t used for testing.”
Animal rights organisations argue that continuing to rely on animal testing is not only unethical but also scientifically outdated.
Animal welfare concerns
Reuben Skeats, Anti-Vivisection Campaign Leader at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA UK), says experiments on animals can actually slow scientific progress.
“Continuing to use animals in experiments is hindering scientific progress and drug development,” he said.
He points to research from the US National Institutes of Health, which estimates that the failure rate during the current drug development process is over 95 percent.
“Clearly, there is a problem with the current paradigm for developing and testing drugs and bringing them to market,” Skeats said. “Experiments on animals have been identified as a major contributing factor.”
According to Skeats, results from animal testing are often unreliable.
“Results from animals are unreliable, misleading and, vitally, do not reflect human biology.”
Instead, he says modern alternatives already exist that are safer and more effective.
“We have an abundance of safe and reliable approaches to test novel drugs and products that don’t cost animal lives,” he said.
These include human cell cultures, computational modelling of human biology and specialised laboratory microchips.
“In fact, these human-focused approaches are faster, more reliable and cheaper – all while sparing animals pain and exploitation.”
Skeats argues that animal welfare concerns exist across several industries, not only cosmetics.
“It’s not a case of one or the other,” he said. “The moment each industry regards a sentient animal as a resource to be used and abused, they are committing the same atrocity.”
He believes change is already happening.
“Cosmetics are now regularly produced without experiments on animals; the fur industry is on its knees, and others, such as animal skin and wool, will follow.”
He also noted that governments are beginning to recognise the problem.
“The UK Government has now published a strategy to replace the use of animals in science.”
Skeats says the issue ultimately comes down to how society views animals.
“They would say that they are here with us, not for us,” he said, imagining what animals themselves might say about the beauty industry.
“That they are someone, not something. They have their own likes and dislikes, a personality, and habits.
“True beauty comes from how we treat others. Tormenting animals in the pursuit of vanity is the opposite of this.”
He added that consumers who want to help animals can support cruelty-free brands.
“Consumers of beauty products can support animals by choosing to buy from companies that do not test on animals.”
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