What or who is Honest Beauty you might ask yourself? And what kind of cruelty is being referred to? Well, dear readers, let us break it down.
What is Honest Beauty?
Honest Beauty is an American, self-proclaimed ‘cruelty-free’ brand. The company manufactures and sells plant-based, vegan goods. The goods that are manufactured and sold, range from infant and child-care, clothing to beauty and make-up products. It also includes, bath and body items, various gift packages and cleaning materials, amongst many others. They maintain a broad target market across countries such as the USA, Canada, and the UK.
The goods are manufactured using organic resources and methods. The company abides by the values of transparency, trust, and sustainability. However, the jury is still out on whether the company truly is cruelty-free.
Free from what kind of cruelty?
The kind of cruelty that is considered relates to animal cruelty. Many companies claim to be free from animal cruelty without full disclosure. The US media has noted that some companies also tend to avoid questions related to their cruelty-free status. Likewise, Honest Beauty is yet to disclose their animal testing policy but remain adamant about their cruelty-free status. They maintain a stance that they are against any form of product testing on animals
To be free or not to be free
Although, Honest Beauty lacks full disclosure regarding their animal testing policy, there are key points that allude to their cruelty-free status being true.
1. Majority of their products are made from organic materials. 2. They receive positive reviews and feedback from customers that their products are quite good and indeed confirm products to be natural and not containing any animal ingredients. 3. They don’t export products to countries where animal testing is legal prerequisite. 4. Honest Beauty has been awarded the Beauty Without Bunnies certification by PETA.
These key points do indicate that Honest Beauty preserve a cruelty-free status and are committed to the vision and mission of the company. It seems evident that Honest Beauty is to be free from animal cruelty. And be that as it may, it does not mean that the company is totally vegan. So where does that leave the fundamentals of only producing plant-based, vegan products?
The White Lies – Not So Honest Afterall?
Is it worth having a name that means truthful, genuine, open, yet there are lies that are being uncovered?
Honest Beauty defines vegan on their website as something that “does not contain any animal ingredient or animal-derived ingredient”. Yet according to the research conducted, there are products manufactured that indeed contain animal by-products. This creates room for doubt about, whether this company is fronting with a façade of eco-friendliness. It is not new that major corporations are only in it to make a profit off their consumers. Hopefully, the latter is not true for Honest Beauty. Vegan products are strictly prohibited from containing any kind of animal derivative or by-product.
However, the natural-derived ingredients used by Honest Beauty are sourced from animals. This leads to pensive thoughts: can Honest Beauty still be denoted as a company that is purely vegan and plant-based? It is a paradox.
Anything be expected from anyone in today’s world. This wouldn’t be the first for an American company to sell their consumers implausible dreams. White lies can only cover up the true story for so long. Or maybe it is not a white lie but deemed as a loophole in business. Either way, it is not only the dishonesty about the purely vegan products claimed to be sold that is astonishing, but the lack of ethics coming to light.
A statement made by the company after being questioned about animal testing left me in disarray. Their elusive response reiterates that no animal testing takes place, but human testing is their alternative. This seems quite bizarre that animal testing is forbidden, but the safety of products is tested on human beings. It comes across as unethical that products are tested on humans, regardless of whether the company insists, products are natural and organic. If it would be cruel to test these products on animals, what makes it okay for it to be tested on humans? Give the rhetoric some food for thought!
The Conclusion
The claim of being cruelty-free seems to be true. In line with the research, the information suggests that the company is cruelty-free. Unfortunately, the proclamation of being a company strives towards total veganism and producing plant-based products is open to speculation. Moreso, the logic behind testing products on humans rather than animals comes forth as unethical.
The reality is that no person, business, institution, or any other system is without flaws. At the end of the day the decision lies with the consumers. They are free to choose to support or oppose Honesty Beauty.
