Tonight's 5pm news (you may still be able to catch it) has a piece by consumer reporter Jeanette Pavini on animal testing. I will paste the web summary below. Please send a quick note of thanks for this coverage.
Go to http://cbs5.com/contact and choose 5pm news from the pulldown menu.
Here's the story:
http://cbs5.com/consumer/local_story_095194154.html
Karli Kuehnish loves her beauty products.
"I am a cosmetic junkie," she says. "I actually work in cosmetics."
She also is a big animal lover, and makes sure the products she buys aren’t tested on animals. But like many consumers, what Karli might not know is that, though a product my say that it is cruelty free or not tested on animals, that may not be entirely true.
Animal Testing Information Links
http://www.leapingbunny.org
http://www.eco-label.org
http://www.fda.org
"I'd say it's misleading," says Consumer Attorney Mark Chavez. "There's a definite economic advantage in the marketplace to being able to promote the product as being cruelty free or not having been tested on animals."
Michelle Thew of the Animal Protection Institute says that it’s an economic advantage that depends on the goodwill of the consumers. Her organization is trying to drive animal testing out of the cosmetic industry.
"It may mean that only the finished product is not tested, or it may mean that the company did not test it but paid someone else to," says Thew.
According to the FDA, “Cosmetic companies have unrestricted use of the phrases ‘cruelty-free’ or ‘Not tested on animals,’ because there are no legal definitions for these terms.”
So Chavez says that the burden of proof is on the shoulders of the consumer.
"The reality is that you may have to look beyond the label for any product and question the company about what that particular label means for that particular company," Chavez says.
That’s where organizations like leaping bunny and Eco-Labels come to into play. You can go to the sites to see if the products you use really are tested on animals.
Thew also says that if companies say they don’t test on animals, they should have no problem putting their name on the list.
"If a company won't sign a simple pledge to say they aren't testing on animals then we will let the consumer make the choice."
Karli has already made her choice.
“I've seen what it does to the animals and I really wouldn't want it to happen to any of my animals," Karli says.
(END OF STORY)
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Date: Wed Apr 5 18:14:26 2006
