This month I blogged about:
Veterinarians Who Aren’t Merchants of Death: The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights
If You Wouldn’t Wear Your Dog, Please Don’t Wear Fur: Jared Padalecki’s Ad for PETA
Grateful Body Normal Skin Sampler Set (4/5 stars)
Another Small Victory in the Fight to Remove Animals from Toxicological Testing: In Vitro Test Beats Animal Tests for Measuring Skin Irritancy
Let’s Welcome 14 New Companies to Being 100%-animal-testing-free!
The Body Shop Facial Muslin Cloths (4/5 stars)
I thought I’d start a new monthly wrap-up feature — things I wish I could find from cruelty-free companies. So far, I’ve got:
1) Unscented, aluminum-containing deodorant.
2) Instant stain remover wipes.
3) Teeth whitening strips.
4) Eye drops.
I really wish I could buy all of these. I’m hoping these are out there and I just don’t know about them yet. It’s possible! I haven’t worked my way through all the new cruelty-free companies on the CCIC’s list, or all the European cruelty-free companies, and one of them COULD make unscented aluminum-containing deodorant, instant stain remover wipes, teeth whitening strips, and/or eyedrops. I’ve got my fingers crossed, anyway! I should mention here that the last time I wrote a post about things I wish I could find in cruelty-free form, one of my wishes was answered — namely, I found John Paul Pet dog tooth and gum wipes! So I can only hope these other products will be made available soon as well . . .
Hey Emily,
I too have been searching for some viable cruelty-free alternative for teeth whitening. I stumbled across a product recently — in the same searching spree that lead me to your blog :^] — that is doesn’t actually say that it’s cruelty-free but is made by a company that touts all their products as “Natural”, along with some being referred to as cruelty-free.
I sent an email to their info address but haven’t heard back… I was wondering if you had looked into this product or company in the past or were wanting to check it out.
The company is called Taytan (http://www.taytan.com/) out of the Philippines and their product is called Natural White (http://www.taytan.com/natural_white.htm). Someone had recommended is as an option in the PETA forums (http://www.peta.org/forums/post.asp?method=TopicQuote&TOPIC_ID=4541&FORUM_ID=13).
Thoughts?
Comment by Stephen Sharkey-Chouinard — June 12, 2008 @ 11:14 am
Hi Stephen!
I am DYING to hear what Taytan writes back to you about whether it tests on animals or not. Please keep me informed!
I’m a little torn on the teeth-whitening front — I’ve found three companies that say they don’t test on animals, but none of them subscribe to the Humane Cosmetics Standard, so I suspect they don’t make sure their ingredients come from animal-testing-free sources. So I would describe them as 50%-cruelty-free at best. Plus they all look like internet scams to me — I’d be VERY hesitant to send them my credit card information. (There’s http://www.britewhitesmile.co.uk/teeth-whitening/teeth-whitener-tips.php , which claims it does not test on animals, and there’s http://www.therabreath.com , which claims that its toothgel is not tested on animals — I’m not sure if its teeth whitening products are not as well, at least, I was unable to find that information on the site.)
(I did find one company that says in its FAQ that its ingredients and final products are not tested on animals, but the site really looks like a scam to me. It’s http://www.whiteshine.co.uk/#FAQ )
That being said, the main ingredient in most teeth whitening devices is hydrogen peroxide, which I don’t think anyone is seriously testing on animals these days. It’s been around forever. (Though I could be wrong about that! God knows what they’re testing on animals these days.) So I wouldn’t be too opposed by people buying non-CCIC-approved teeth whitening products (as long as they’re not owned by Procter & Gamble, of course! Taytan, I suspect, would be a far, far more ethical option).
But I do mean to go through the Australian list of cruelty-free companies on ChooseCrueltyFree and see if any of them have teeth whitening products within the next week or two. I am hoping to find a teeth whitening company, and once I do, I shall definitely get back to you on this!
Regards,
Emily
Comment by Emily — June 13, 2008 @ 1:23 am