Buyer BEWARE
Think before you buy that next lipstick or mascara. As one vegan entrepreneur
explains, you never quite know what unwanted animal ingredients might be
lurking in your make up bag, by Rebecca Goodyear
R
ose Brown, 25-year-old
vegan entrepreneur and
founder of PHB Ethical
Beauty (PHB), is passionate
about promoting cruelty-free
cosmetics to the world.
She believes vegan beauty products are
better for our health, for animals and the
environment.
The daughter of UB40 drummer and
songwriter James Brown, she launched
PHB with her partner in 2012 to provide a
completely natural and ethically conscious
alternative to mainstream products.
“My passion is educating people about
the hidden dangers and ingredients found
in many beauty products,” she says. “Often
people don’t realise that most beauty
products contain harsh chemicals and
animal derived ingredients that damage
our health and cause unnecessarysuffering to millions of animals each year.”
It can be quite an eye opening
education. Animal fats and crushed
insects are common ingredients found in
mainstream beauty products and (even
more worryingly) in lots of natural and
organic beauty products too. When you’ve
made the choice not to consume animal
derived ingredients you don’t really want to
find out there’s pig fat in your lipstick!
Brown insists that no product requires
the use of animal ingredients to make it
desirable or effective, given that suitablecruelty-free vegan alternatives are available.
“Animal testing is another issue close to
our hearts,” she adds. “Many big brands
claim not to test on animals but sell their
products in China where animal testing is a
prerequisite. Many cruelty free companies
still use animal derived ingredients, and
even many companies who provide some
vegan certified products use animal
ingredients in their ranges. There’s still a
long way to go in the fight against animal
cruelty in beauty products.”
But she says it’s important to show
companies that continue to use
these kinds of ingredients that it’s not
acceptable. “By vocally demanding
they stop and by choosing to purchase
products from companies that only use
ethical ingredients we can power a change
that will encourage compassion and make
a huge difference to the world we live in.”“There’s still a long way
to go in the fight against
animal cruelty in
beauty products.”Ethical
Beauty