Kimberly Wyatt, best known for being in one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, the Pussycat Dolls, is the latest celebrity to join Cruelty Free International in calling for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics. She joins actors Ricky Gervais, Peter Dinklage, Norman Reedus, and fellow musicians Sir Paul McCartney and Joss Stone in endorsing the campaign.
Kimberly Wyatt is not just a supporter and fan of cruelty free cosmetics, she's part of the growing sustainable cosmetics industry - having launched her own line of mineral-based make up Beautiful Movements and is certified by The Leaping Bunny program
Laying waste to the perception that mineral-based make up is all about earth tones, the Beautiful Movements cosmetics line is quite possibly the most glamorous mineral-based makeup to hit the market. The collection includes colors such as "platinum tiara" - a sparkly silver, "aquatic galaxy" - an electric aquamarine, and "wolf howl" - a deep purple. The collection also includes plenty of warm natural hues- perfect for creating the ever-popular "smoky eye."
In addition to being free of animal testing, the makeup is also free of many other things that conscientious consumers are concerned about such as parabens, synthetic dyes and fragrances, fillers, bismuth oxychloride, nano particles and animal products.
It seems like a no-brainer to me that companies striving to produce natural makeup would also embrace cruelty free ethos. However, this is not always the case. Having attended and presented at multiple Sustainable Cosmetics Summits, I know firsthand that animal welfare is sometimes treated as a sidebar in discussions about sustainability and social responsibility. Striving to avoid harm is at the center of the sustainable cosmetics movement so, it seems to me, that refusing to inflict needless pain and suffering on animals deserves to be a pillar of this movement, not an optional afterthought.
I'm not alone.
A 2011 random telephone survey of US adults conducted by ORC International found that 81 percent said that they expect manufactures of "natural" or "green" products to avoid animal testing. Moreover, a 2015 Neilson survey found that "not tested on animals" was the most important packaging claim among those surveyed with 57 percent responding that it was "very" or "moderately" important. Respondents also placed a high level of importance on products labeled "all natural" with 53 percent of those surveyed responding that the claim was important.
So, as it turns out, being cruelty free makes good business sense.
Now, if a company chooses to not test its products on animals purely because it makes good business sense, I am actually fine with that. As long as animals aren't being made to suffer and killed for a new lipstick or shampoo, I'm happy. However, I have to say, I do harbor a special fondness for companies that commit to being cruelty free out of compassion for animals. As Kimberly Wyatt has proven, Beautiful Movements is one such company.
