hello! welcome to the blog that has taken forever to get started. if we hadn’t had a post removed by FB just yesterday, i probably would’ve taken another couple of months to sit down & say hiya. we’re thinking of breaking up with FB. call us crazy but we like our communication uncensored…it’s just how we roll. we love to hear from you, so if the mood strikes, leave a comment (or 2) & we’ll continue to chat 🙂 right now the comments are set up so that you have to enter an email addy…blech. i usually turn around & travel elsewhere in cyberspace if i have to give out info to comment on blogs so i’m going to try & get that changed. in the meantime, you can rest assured that your email addy is safe with us. we don’t do any sneaky crap like sending unsolicited “updates” and/or sharing info with anyone.
i’d hoped our first blog entry would be all sweetness and light, but when i woke up this morning and found that an email communication i posted on FB…an email i received from the PR manager at urban decay…had been deleted from our FB page by FB i was furious! beyond removing my post, FB also removed follower comments. we were also banned from posting for 12 hours. i’m still trying to figure that one out. did they think i’d get amnesia and forget that we’d just been crapped on by FB & whomever it was that requested that email be removed? not likely. aaaaaand so, here we are. the tone of today has been heavy…animal testing & FB censorship. there goes the sweetness and light. here’s the background story about the deleted email. i contacted urban decay because i do not believe they should be able to call themselves cruelty free since they’re now owned by l’oreal (a company that tests on animals). emails went back & forth between myself & the PR manager & to be fair i wasn’t pleasant in my communication. animal testing isn’t a pleasant reality. the long & short of it is that i posted one of those emails to FB. “somebody” (l’oreal/urban decay/pr manager???) didn’t like that i was sharing & had FB remove the following email from our page:
Like I said, the guidelines provided by both the CCIC and PETA are quite strict and refer only to the ACTUAL PRODUCTS by the ACTUAL BRAND, not the parent company that owns them. Do you buy toothpaste? Probably made by P&G or Colgate-Palmolive which also test on animals. Do you shop at Sephora? Owned by LVMH who tests on animals. I suggest you do some further research to really understand the concept of animal testing, what it means, and also what it means to be a cruelty free company.
thanks
TAMMY BARTEL
PR Manager
Urban Decay Cosmetics
what started out as voicing my disapproval of diluting the “cruelty free” claim morphed into some questions. do we, as consumers, have the right to know what companies are really cruelty free? you’re damn right we do! well, i’m here to tell you that a large part of knowing this is going to lay squarely on your shoulders. i had a conversation with CCIC (the leaping bunny logo people) earlier today and it was…interesting. i chose to talk to CCIC because the PR manager for urban decay used CCIC and PETA to validate urban decay’s cruelty free claim. the first part of our conversation was pretty rocky and i was given all the B.S. i had expected. in regards to once cruelty free companies that were now owned by large corporations that test on animals, i heard “change from the inside”, “urban decay is a subsidiary”, “since tom’s was bought by colgate their ‘cruelty free’ product is more available”. really? in my book these once cruelty free companies are sell outs. they ceased to be cruelty free when the profits of their product sales started feeding the machine of companies that test on animals (like l’oreal or colgate). i want to trust that logo but how can i if l’oreal and colgate bought companies that are allowed to use the bunny? i don’t agree that companies like urban decay (l’oreal) should be allowed to make a cruelty free claim and i’d like to see CCIC dump a company’s ass if they sell to a corporation that tests on animals but i don’t think that’s gonna happen soon. while i can’t give CCIC props on being the watchdog group i had hoped they were, you can still use the bunny to help you shop. if you see the logo, check their website!! CCIC does update what company has been sold to who (whom?). not so hard, right? we all know the big guys, but we need to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the market and using CCIC’s website is super easy and will help you separate the real cruelty free companies from the posers (sorry urban decay but you’re a poser). a little symbol next to a company’s name will let you know if that company has a parent company that supports animal testing. i’m ashamed to say that i’ve dropped the ball over the years when it came to ferreting out companies who test on animals. i got lazy and quit fact checking. i’ve unknowingly purchased products from companies that test on animals. i want to punch myself in the face for being too complacent. the company that manufacturers that “cruelty free” shampoo you’ve been using forever just may have changed hands when you weren’t looking. while there was great momentum some years back it looks like we’re stalled. i remember l’oreal promising to end their animal testing & they signed a pact with PETA. what happened to that? if supporting real cruelty free companies floats your boat be prepared for a little sleuthing. truly, every penny you spend sends a message. money talks.
on another note, the only way i was able to compose this semi-coherent blog post was because i didn’t do it this morning when i was pissed at FB. i took our dog Sid to do his “therapy dog” thing. i spent time with some people who are amazingly graceful and calm while dealing with tough, life changing issues. in the end, we do what we can, while we’re here. & that’s kinda it. peace out & much love!
We are lucky in the UK to have superdrug who’s own brand products are vegan and not tested, including their make up range ‘B’ which means I may never need buy UD again. Lush have some cool make up products too. Wish companies would follow in their footsteps.
you & me both rachael! i sincerely believe that consumers can (& will) bring about change by spending their $$ to support truly cruelty free companies. companies like urban decay/l’oreal are all about the dollar, so we hit’em where it hurts…the wallet. we just don’t buy their products until they quit testing on animals. with all the great new cruelty free companies coming into the market place, it’s going to be ez pz to give companies like urban decay/l’oreal da boot 🙂
I agree it’s lame for Facebook to censor. I agree animal testing is bad. However, I don’t agree with the harsh stance against Urban Decay. Urban Decay’s product remains cruelty free, why does it matter who owns them?
^To Carla, who asks ‘Why does it matter who owns them [Urban Decay]?’
As explained in the original GMG blog post: “the profits of their [Urban Decay’s] product sales feed the machine of companies that test on animals…. every penny you spend sends a message”. It’s true! THAT’S why it matters 🙂
hi claire, thanks for helping clarify for carla 🙂 & you did it with a smiley face…awesome!
hey carla, since claire pointed out what i wrote earlier, re: supporting a company like urban decay (which is really l’oreal) i don’t have much to add except have a great day & i appreciate your question.