Some years back, the horrors of fast fashion shook media outlets, leaving most people utterly appalled.
The guilty verdict on fast fashion companies ranged from unfair treatment of workers, child labor, animal cruelty, and wanton environmental pollution to poor-quality products. Their crimes against humanity and the earth were endless.
The spate of awareness that happened made people more conscious of what they wore. People also took steps to avoid those brands.
As a result, many of these brands started attempting to improve their operations and production processes and serve their customers better
Today, we are having similar problems with cosmetic brands, and it helps to know how these brands operate and why you should avoid them.
Let’s take a look at three types of cosmetic brands to avoid.
Animal Cruelty-Driven Brands
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Instead of going through the rigorous process of properly testing their products, some brands would resort to animal testing.
They do this because animal testing provides cheaper, faster, and more agreeable results, which they can hold on to and quickly push their products into the market.
Animal testing involves various degrees of cruel practices, often leading to the unnecessary death of many animals used in testing.
Why Avoid Them?
While these brands claim that animal testing helps them know if their products are safe for their customers to use, indications from the U.S. FDA and Canada’s Food and Drug Act show that a cosmetic product working on animals doesn’t necessarily translate to its efficacy for humans.
There are many recommendations by federal agencies for these brands to use alternative lab-testing means; they mostly ignore these recommendations and opt for animal testing.
In 2015, Canadian senators and scientists pushed for the Cruelty-free Cosmetics amendment via Bill S-24, intending to totally prohibit animal testing for cosmetics in Canada.
However, nothing has been done about this bill since 2019, and there are speculations that these brands are lobbying against it, as they prefer the animal cruelty option.
How to Detect These Brands
Most cosmetic brands that have a presence in China are not cruelty-free, as Chinese laws demand animal testing for cosmetics. If the brand operates in China, they are likely testing on animals instead of using alternative, cruelty-free methods.
Brands that rely heavily on chemicals
If you are health-conscious, it would be in your best interest to know the ingredients your favorite cosmetic brands are using.
Image: Freepik
When you consider that you use some of these cosmetic products at least four times a week and leave them on your body throughout the day, they could pose a health threat to you in the future.
Why Avoid Them?
At a time when we are faced with an increase in skin cancer and other skin conditions, limiting the use of products from such brands can save you from various health conditions.
Some ingredients to avoid include:
Petrolatum: although petrolatum is not particularly harmful to the skin, it sometimes has traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known to be harmful to the skin after extended use. The problem is that there is no way for you to know if the petrolatum used in your favorite cosmetic product is contaminated.
- Parabens
- BHA or BHT
- Diethanolamine
- Coal tar dyes
- Formalin or methylene glycol
- Siloxanes
- Lead
- Triclosan
- Sodium Laureth sulfate (SLES).
Go for brands with more natural ingredients and fewer preservatives.
How to Detect These Brands/Products
You can simply dedicate some time to reading the ingredients listed on the product’s package. Avoid brands that are very vague about their ingredients.
You can also use the EWG platform to check what’s truly in your favorite brands, even the ones that claim to be all-natural.
Inequitable and Unethical Brands
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Some cosmetic brands have no empathy or regard for their employees. They are more focused on driving profits; they don’t mind how they get to the top.
Brands in this category generally disregard environmental safety and don’t mind whatever by-products they release into our waters and air.
Why Avoid Them?
Their lackluster attitude towards protecting the environment and upholding the basic human rights of their staff puts a damper on the common good.
That is, their actions have ripple effects that somehow find a way to badly affect you. The truth is that some of these brands' production facilities don’t operate under their brand names.
Therefore, they could be operating in facilities close to your community while dumping their by-products in your water or releasing them into the air. Their operations could also cause lead poisoning in your water.
In addition, cosmetic brands that treat their staff poorly play a big role in generally keeping wages down in the industry. Most of their workers who suffer injuries or breathing difficulties due to the chemicals they inhale daily are hardly ever well-compensated.
How to Detect These Brands
You can check online reviews of the brands on recruitment or HR websites to learn what their employees say about them.
However, you may not know which cosmetic brands are polluting the environment or the air and water in your community unless the media exposes them.