The Dark Side of Beauty
YOUR GUIDE TO THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY’S ANIMAL INGREDIENTS
We all love natural ingredients, right? But would we love them if they were made from animal fat, tissues and other parts? No, didn’t think so.
Throughout history there have been a whole host of bizarre, animal-derived ingredients lurking in beauty. We think you deserve to know about them.
At The Body Shop, we have serious issues with animal tissues. Why? Because while animals may not be directly killed for these ingredients, their appearance in cosmetics exposes them to cruelty. That’s why by the end of 2023, our entire product formulations portfolio will be certified by The Vegan Society.1
Many of the animal-derived ingredients in non-vegan beauty rely on intensive farming, fishing and by-products of the meat trade. Even if you aren’t vegan yourself, we still think you have a right to know if bugs are featuring in your self-care regime.
There can be all sorts of ingredients hidden in supply chains. Animal-derived ingredients can have not easily identifiable names, so it’s hard to tell what’s what. It’s confusing for you – and you shouldn’t have to scour labels for clues to the ethics behind your favourite product.
Luckily the beauty industry is changing, and many companies, including us at The Body Shop, are looking at their raw materials again. But there are still some ingredients you may not be aware are animal-derived.
ANIMAL INGREDIENTS TO WATCH OUT FOR
1 By December 2023, we aim to have all our product formulas certified by The Vegan Society. It is possible that old formulations which have not been certified by The Vegan Society may still be present in the market at that point, as those products are being sold through.
2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R1472&from=EN
4 https://www.bmvfragrances.com/productcategory/castoreum-perfumery-base
5 https://www.davidpublisher.com/Public/uploads/Contribute/59a926c9f2050.pdf
7 https://www.cir-safety.org/sites/default/files/tsupep062017tent.pdf
8 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2637487/
9 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijcc/2013/624967/
11 https://www.cir-safety.org/sites/default/files/kerati062016FR.pdf