 Get involved in raising |
Compassionate Shopping Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Fixed Cut-off Date and why is it important?
Virtually all ingredients have been animal tested in the past and testing of new ingredients is an ongoing activity. Companies with a fixed cut-off date policy will not use any ingredient tested on animals after a specific date and insist that their suppliers comply with this. This is why adopting a fixed cut-off date is so important: these companies are discouraging current or future animal testing: the older the fixed cut-off date, the more ethical the company. These companies deserve our support and custom.
Some companies, such as Lush, go one step further and only buy from suppliers who neither carry out animal testing for, nor supply ingredients to, any company. This policy increases the pressure on all suppliers to end testing.
Why doesn't Naturewatch support the 5-year rolling rule?
Companies adopting this policy will not use ingredients tested within the last five years. Naturewatch does not endorse the 5-year rolling rule as it does little to discourage animal testing.
What's happened to my favourite company? I don't see it listed in the guide.
You may notice that there are some companies which we have endorsed in the past but are not in the new version. This is because we don't have sufficient information to make a judgment either way. It would be wrong of us to endorse a company which we were not confident about. In these instances we are operating an open door scheme for companies who are willing to work with us to provide the information we require. When we are satisfied that these companies have met our cruelty-free criteria, we will put them back in the guide.
Details of any changes in company policy will appear here. If you would like to receive a copy of the supplement, please email Naturewatch for a copy.
The Company Index seems much shorter?
We know that some of you would like to have a fully referenced index of companies listed in the back of the guide and we really would like to provide you with one. However, we have to strike a balance between the amount of information we can provide and the campaigning work we carry out. We believe that focusing both your attention and ours on the big players, we will do more to change company policy overall. Remember, it is the larger companies who have the real power in the animal testing industry and that's why we focus our time on telling you about them.
