Speech+Competition


 * Welcome to my speech page! This is the speech I used in the Speech Competition to come 2nd place, enjoy!**

Should animal testing be used in the cosmetics industry?

You may be asking yourself, whats this got to do with me? I don't wear makeup-I don't use cosmetics! But we all use cosmetic products such as soap and shampoo in our daily lives. And the fact that many of these products have been tested on animals is something that most of us don't like to think about. Testing cosmetics on animals still occurs in most areas of the world, but it has been banned in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe is set to follow.

There are various arguments for and against using animals to test cosmetics. One of the main arguments for animal testing is protecting human health and safety, beyond doubt. Some say that it would be much more inhumane to test new cosmetics on humans! Also, labotory animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs have a shorter life span than humans, which means the long term side effects of using a cosmetic product can be seen sooner.

However, the testing process generally involves applying the cosmetic to the animals eyes, nose and mouth and this causes a lot of suffering such as; Liver problems, swollen eyelids, ulcerations and bleeding. Also, sadly, 50% of the rabbits, mice and guinea pigs used to test cosmetics die, within 2 to 3 weeks of the experiments. On top of this, cosmetic testing on animals is expensive and has been proven to be less reliable than testing cosmetics on human voulenteers.

Now, we all like new cosmetic products, and some people may say that animal testing is needed for developing these products. But do these people realise that over 8000 of the ingridients used to make cosmetics have been on the market for years anyway? We already know that these are safe for humans to use, because we're using them all the time! For example, the new Coca Coal flavoures Lip Smaker lip balem was not tested on animals. Is it really worth blinding an animal, to test a new eye product? Is it necassary to inflict ulcerations and bleeding to a mouse, in order to try out a new lip product? What do you think? I don't think so!

If you feel the way I do about buying cosmetics that aren't tested on animals, you need to educate yourself, so that you make the right product choices. I took a look on PETA's website (Which is the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) and saw a list of companies that do and don't test their cosmetics on animals. Try using Aveda shampoo instead of Sunsilk which is tested on animals. Don't use Vaseline lip balm, when you can use Lip Smackers which is animal friendly. Buy Revlon products, which are animal friendly, rather than Maybelline which are not.

I believe testing cosmetics on animals is unnecassary and inhumane and many people feel the same way. I will try, wherever possible to make the right product choices as so not to support the cosmetic companies that do test on animals. We all need to relise that humans can continue to look good, without causing pain ans suffering to animals. In the end, is it really worth it for a bar of soap or a tube of lip balm?