Hale Cosmeceuticals is committed to cruelty-free skincare. Our products are carefully formulated and independently tested but never on animals. While many companies argue that animal testing is the most cost-effective way to ensure product safety for human consumers, we believe that the cost to our environment outweighs any benefit to ourselves.
The Cost to the Environment
Animal testing presents a number of risks to the environment and natural ecosystems. The most obvious problem with animal testing is the unsustainable practice of capturing and/or breeding animals for testing. Captured animals may include those picked up and housed in animal shelters unwanted pets and strays. Because the history of these animals is unknown, their underlying health is also uncertain and that can taint test results. While animals bred for testing purposes may have a purer genetic and health history, it creates a need to sustain animals that do not contribute to a natural habitat, which simply increases the burden on the planet. Of course, when all testing is complete, what happens to the animal remains?
Animal test subjects are biohazards, which must be carefully disposed of. While protocols are in place to prevent human illness and other types of contamination, these remains often end up sealed in plastic in landfills where they cannot biodegrade. Yet the unsustainability of breeding and disposal of animals for testing is not the only cost to the environment. The purpose of animal testing is to determine the safety of products and to reformulate products that have been shown to be unsafe. What happens to the test products? Discarded test products often end up in landfills where they can leach into soil and water, polluting water and food supplies.
The Cost to Humans
Despite the claim that animal testing is cost-effective and ensures human consumers' safety, it may actually increase potential harm. The whole idea of animal testing is scientifically suspect. Animals' skin, eyes and systems are different from humans', so test results cannot always predict human reactions. Doses administered to animals are often very different from doses humans are exposed to, and that affects test result applicability, too. In the end, humans may be using products that pose long-term health risks without knowing it because they were tested and marketed as safe.
Cutting Costs
Hale Cosmeceuticals cuts the environmental and human cost of animal testing. We adhere to cruelty-free testing practices and make every effort to make our research and development, manufacturing, packaging and shipping operations environmentally friendly and sustainable.
