Blog The Change: Companies Testing on Animals – Is your product on the list?

Part 1 of 2

I’ve been wanting to blog about this issue for some time, but today I had two perfect reasons to do so.

1. Today is Blog the Change for Animals Day. It only happens four times a year, so I always like to take part in this worthy event. As a pet lover and blogger, this is my opportunity to bring attention to one issue and ask people to do something that makes a difference.

2. Today, Life with Dogs posted a story about the very issue I have been wanting to blog about – companies that test products on animals.

I am not a radical tree-hugging activist. In fact, not even close. I like to think of myself as more of an average person who just happens to love animals and hates it when they are mistreated, cruelly abused or neglected. So when I saw this video (see video below) a couple of months ago I knew I wanted to blog about this topic. The video shows two of nine rescued Beagles on their first day of freedom from a testing lab. It brought tears to my eyes knowing what they had been through and what they were about to experience, freedom.

But how could I write about it when I didn’t even know what I could personally do to make a difference?

Then today Life with Dogs posted a story about this issue and posted a link a link listing all of the companies and products who do animal testing. I was shocked to discover that many of the products I use in my daily life were on that list. Products like: Cover Girl, Clorox, Coppertone, Garnier, Listerine, Lubiderm, Orange Glo, OxiClean and Visine. Companies like: 3M, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Dial Corporation, Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Lancome and SC Johnson & Son. Did you have any idea that yours were on the list? I didn’t.

Now I have the information I need to make a change, I am making a pledge today to quit buying from these companies. In fact, I have already begun to organize the products and companies on this list into a grocery list that I can bring with me when I am shopping. This will make it much easier for me to avoid buying these products. I am also going to start shopping online for products and companies who don’t test on animals. I may be only one person, but I can make a difference!

I encourage you to get involved too. The more we use our dollars to speak for us, the more companies will listen.

So how can you help?
1. Watch the video to understand why animal testing must stop.
2. Pledge to stop buying products from these companies.
3. Share this blog post and video with others and ask them to take the pledge.

Tomorrow, I will give you another reason to not buy products from companies that test on animals.
It will be Blog the Change Part 2!

Now here’s that amazing Beagle video. If you want to know more about the Beagle Freedom Project, you can check out their site here.

Update: Another blogger participating in Blog the Change happened to cover the same topic, but she shared good news! One of the companies on the list, Allergen, has announced that they are phasing out animal testing! Yay! Read more about the type of testing they did and what they are phasing out. This is really good news!