Kiwi Women Dared to Go Bare

Kiwi stars Angela Bloomfield, Suzanne Paul and Ruby Higgins have joined forces with animal advocacy group SAFE to urge New Zealand women to go bare-faced to highlight the cruelty of testing cosmetics on animals – tests which still continue to be performed by big name brands like L’Oreal and Avon.

The three high-profile women are going makeup-free for a day as part of SAFE’s Cruelty Free Week. The campaign aims to raise awareness among consumers about how many common cosmetics and household products are still routinely tested on animals. These include companies like L’Oreal, Avon, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome, Revlon, MAC and Maybelline.*

“We would rather go without makeup than use products tested on animals and we want Kiwi women to join us in saying NO to cruelty,” says actor Angela Bloomfield. “The campaign is a fun way to get across a serious message. Animals are essentially being tortured just for the sake of beauty products – and it has to stop.”

SAFE’s Cruelty Free Week commences July 15th 2013, and culminates in Bare Your Face Day on Friday 19th July. It will showcase New Zealand’s own guide to cosmetics not tested on animals, the SAFE Shopper guide. SAFE is also calling for New Zealand to ban cosmetics testing on animals.

For one day in the Cruelty Free Week SAFE is challenging Kiwi women to ‘go bare’ for animals – to give up their makeup ritual in support of animals “Animal testing is the ugly secret of the beauty industry. But we do not have to be a part of it. We are encouraging Kiwi women to take up our makeup-free challenge as a ‘soul cleansing’ exercise,” says SAFE Campaign Manager Mandy Carter. “Ditch your old animal-tested beauty products and start again with some fabulous cruelty free makeup from SAFE Shopper companies!”

Both the testing of cosmetics on animals and the sale of products containing animal-tested ingredients are banned in the EU. Similar bans have been enacted in Israel, and have just been finalised in India.

In New Zealand, animal testing for cosmetics is not explicitly required by law, but neither is it prohibited and there are many products sold here that are tested on animals. SAFE is asking for help to ensure that no rabbit, guinea pig or other animal is subjected to distressing and painful testing for the sake of beauty products.

Despite the fact there is widespread opposition and disgust at cosmetic testing some companies choose to continue performing horrendous tests. To stop this cruelty once and for all, it is clear that New Zealand must follow the EU’s lead, and ban both the testing of cosmetics on animals and the sale of such products,” says Mandy.

The public can download SAFE Shopper at www.safeshopper.org.nz and are urged to send an e-card to Prime Minister John Key, calling on him to legislate against cosmetics testing on animals.

ENDS

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