Expert: Robin Flynn - 7/4/2008

Question
I was reading a brochure on Jane Iredale mineral makeup, I visited a medical spa here in LV and they list their makeup brushes to include the softest hair to your skin, and as they list the different brushes, they list all of the natural hair including: goat hair, sable hair, pony and Taklon hair, Toray nylon, and squirrel hair.  This is very alarming to me, that they would list these?  Perhaps you can clarify for me or if you can give me some info to report this.  They also list www.safecosmetics.org as their Proud Signer of The Compact for Safe Cosmetics.  Thank you for your time,
Donna

Answer
Hi Donna,

I'm sorry for the late response. I did not have access to a computer this weekend.  I did visit the Jane Iredale website and they do mention the type of fur/hair used in each product. They even offer a section warning vegans which products not to use because of carmine(insects) and beeswax. However they forgot to list the brushes that contain animal fur in this section. Personally, I think its alarming that any company needs to kill an animal for its parts, especially a fur product. However, they do put their ingredients out there for caring consumers to avoid. Many companies do not provide this simple courtesy and they use the same ingredients. And some don't always tell the truth about what they put in their products. Safeconsumer.com is not an organization that looks out for the well being of animals. They state on their site:
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics does not support unnecessary, repeated or senseless testing of toxic chemicals on animals, and supports all efforts to seek a methodology that would replace animal testing while ensuring that safety testing meets the most rigorous standards to protect human health and the health of the planet. We believe that the overall goal of reducing animal testing while protecting human and wildlife health can be achieved with more efficient testing protocols, a reduction in unnecessary or duplicate testing, ongoing research of available alternatives, and better dissemination of existing studies.

This statement to me means they believe some current animal testing is acceptable. I can appreciate the fact that they want to move away from testing but I have heard that "story" from the scientist community for far too long. As an animal advocate, I do NOT believe in using animals at all for testing especially cosmetics. I rely on www.caringconsumer.com to purchase my products. If you feel safeconsumer.org is a beneficial site and still care about animals I would find companies that are listed on both sites. This way you can make an informed decision. I use many products from the Ecco Bella line. They are a vegan company, except for a few products with carmine and beeswax. http://www.eccobella.com/ and very safe for consumers. http://store.naturalnirvana.com/ecbebr.html

Some other helpful sites for cruelty free brushes. http://www.sevicosmetics.com/tools.htm
http://www.mymakeupmirror.com/VeganBrushes.html


For the Animals,
Robin