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Cruelty-free is a term often used by animal rights activists to describe a product or activity which does not require death or harm to animals. This includes products which have been tested on animals, since these tests are often extremely painful and lead to the suffering and untimely death of hundreds of thousands of animals every year. "“Every product, every action, and every lifestyle decision can be a choice to harm less.”"

- Zoe Weil

History
The term cruelty-free was first used in this way by Lady Dowding who persuaded manufacturers of fake furs to use the label Beauty Without Cruelty and went on to found the charity Beauty Without Cruelty in 1959. The term was popularised in the USA in the 1970s by Marcia Pearson who founded the group Fashion With Compassion.

Campaigns
In 1957 Charles Hume and William Russelll introduced the concept of the three R’s in their book Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. These techniques to reduce animals used in tests and their suffering include: replacement (eliminate an animal test altogether), reduction (less animals used in test by using statistical analysis) and refinement (making tests less painful). In 1991 the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) was established “to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods which are important to the biosciences and which reduce, refine or replace the use of laboratory animals.” Once the ECVAM’s Scientific Advisory Committee approves a test it must be used under the Animal Protection Act, which does not allow the use of animals when an alternative exists. In 2012, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection joined forces with New England Anti-Vivisection Society and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments to create an international organization to campaign against animal testing. BUAV supporter Ricky Gervais announced the campaign which is now considered to have been a deciding factor in the European ban on animal testing for personal-care products. Although companies can still use animal testing in other countries outside Europe (such as China which requires animal testing on all imported cosmetics), the Leaping Bunny applies to a company’s global market and will not certify a product which uses animal testing anywhere in the world.

Tests
Non-human animals such as rabbits, rats, mice, and guinea pigs are forced to eat, inhale, or have a cosmetic ingredient rubbed onto their shaved skin, eyes or ears every day for 28 or 90 days to see if they will have an allergic reaction, and are then killed. They are then cut open to examine the effects the ingredient had on their internal organs. These tests are also done with pregnant mothers who, after extensive suffering, are killed with their unborn baby inside them. In the more prolonged carcinogen tests rats are force-fed a cosmetic ingredient over two years and monitored for cancer then killed. "“Typically a young rabbit is tightly constrained in a box so that he is unable to move... Clips sometimes hold his eyelids open. Anesthesia is not generally administered. A researcher applies a concentrated substance to the outer layer of the eye and observes over a span days or weeks for responses such as blindness, bleeding, hemorrhaging and ulceration. At the end the rabbits are generally killed.”"

- Megan Erin Gallagher

Alternatives
As technology developed, outdated animal testing is being replaced with quicker, cheaper and more accurate methods. Critics point out that humane alternatives can be slow to be implemented, costly, and allow only one compound to be tested at a time. The alternatives which have been implemented have shown positive results, such as the Reconstructed Human Epidermis which uses human skin donated from cosmetic surgery, which replaces the cruel rabbit Draize skin test and is more relevant to human reactions. Methods also exist to replace the Draize eye test by using in-vitro (test-tube) human tissue. Computer-based systems allow for the isolation of a select tissue or organ to conduct tests in an extremely controlled environment. These tests will not only save countless animal lives, but they will be more precise and accurate at protecting humans from toxic substances. Another cruelty-free option is using ingredients that have already been established as safe, such as the 20,000 ingredients in the European Union database.

Products
Companies now offer a wide range of cruelty-free products such as cosmetics, personal-care products, household cleaners, clothing, shoes, condoms (which are sometimes processed with casein), and candles (which usually use paraffin or beeswax). Organizations such as PETA, Choose Cruelty Free, Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and its offshoot organization Cruelty Free International have released lists of cruelty-free products and cruel products to be boycotted. Since the 1990’s the Leaping Bunny has been the only international third-party cruelty-free certification program. ""With these synthetic brushes you no longer have to choose between being socially conscious and sacrificing quality or performance.""

- Wende Zomnir

Events
National Cruelty-Free Week is an event in the United Kingdom every year arranged by the BUAV. The 2006 event was from 17–23 July. Other, similar, events include: National Vegetarian Week, UK Vegan Week and World Vegan Day, which takes place each year on November 1.

Criticisms
While some manufacturers have begun to label their products as “not tested on animals”, “we do not conduct animal testing”, “never tested on animals”, “against animal testing” or “cruelty-free”, these labels are confusing and potentially misleading since there is no clear legal definition as to what they mean.