Recently I have sent quite a few emails to different companies regarding their stance on animal testing, and am yet to hear off any of them. I have been doing this for a number of years and I have to say that only a handful of companies have ever been completely transparent with me.
After a few weeks I usually get the standard response, which normally doesn't answer a single question I ask. I then have to send a follow up email to try and pin down the truth, I never just let it lie. The questions I ask are always;
- Are any of your finished products tested on animals either by your company or through a third party?
- Are any of the ingredients you use in your products tested on animals either by your company or through a third party?
- Are you or your manufacturers owned or affiliated with any companies that may test on animals?
- Do you currently sell your products in China?
- Do any of your products contain any animal by-products (eg. Lanolin, carmine, albumen, whey, honey, etc)
- What (if any) alternative derivatives for have you used instead of animal-derived ingredients ie. Plant/vegetable derived or synthetically manufactured?
- Do you have a list of vegan friendly products?
I always word it politely and am never rude or obnoxious as this will hopefully improve the chances of getting a speedy reply, but over the last few months fewer and fewer companies seem to be replying, I wonder why this is. Do they have something to hide?
If they do test, they owe it to the consumer to be honest, in fact it could hurt their business if they're not. I know I don't buy from a company until I am happy with the answers I get and I can't be the only one that feels like this. So, if you're a PR for a cosmetic company, please reply to your customers. It's not only rude to ignore us, it's also bad business.
If you would like to email companies yourself, Painted In Black has a great template which I always use. You can find it here. If you have received any replies yourself, please share the news in the comments.
