Veganism is described as a diet and lifestyle where one omits from consuming, wearing, using or exploiting animals and any animal by-product. It is quite a common lifestyle worldwide, although fairly difficult to follow as clothing, diets, car interiors, furniture, makeup and more must be altered.
Ariana Grande is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, being the second most followed Instagram user and having won various music awards. She’s identified as vegan in the past, stating that she loves animals more than she loves humans, which is why her 2015 and 2016 M.A.C. Cosmetics collaborations come as a shock. To elaborate, Grande was announced to be the Viva Glam Girl releasing a lipstick and a lip gloss duo with the company.
I've eaten organically since I was little and always kept meat minimal but today marks my first day as a 100% Vegan!!!! Joyous day ??????☀️
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 5, 2013
1 year of plant based eating ✨✨✨? happiest, healthiest, life changing decision I ever made. look into it & save some cute lil innocent lives
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 5, 2014
If you don’t know about M.A.C. Cosmetics, it is sold in over 100 countries worldwide and it has been a part of the Estée Lauder Company since 1994. They have multiple collections with multiple celebrities and celebrity makeup artists, being most notoriously known for their matte lipstick collection which dominated the makeup industry for quite some time.
M.A.C. is also notorious for testing on animals and not creating cruelty-free products. Although they state that they don’t test on animals unless it’s required by law, they sell in China, where animal testing is required. It doesn’t make sense to claim a lifestyle that promotes being cruelty-free towards animals while endorsing a company that does not treat animals the same. Grande is known for being a glam girl and her following is enormous with fans across the globe calling themselves “Arianators”. Seeing as how her rise to fame began when she was on the Nickelodeon T.V. show, Victorious, followed by her transition into pop music, her fan base is mostly young teen girls, who may be impressionable.
In fact, what goes down with animal testing in the makeup and fragrance industry is downright disturbing and inhumane, especially considering the fact that it is not necessary as many companies have opted to not test on animals. According to the International Humane Society, 100,000-200,000 animals are tested on each year and it includes:
Chemists would then look for signs of illness, cancer, birth defects, and “lethal dose” tests, where animals would be forced to consume as much of a test chemical as possible to determine at what level it would become fatal. The organization also cites that asides from the physical pain these tests cause, they may also cause a great number of damage to the animals’ organs, including blindness, internal bleeding, convulsions, death, etc. On top of this, many of the animals do not receive any pain medication or pain relief, as they are simply killed and gotten rid of. Additionally, the organization specifically cites: “almost without exception, companies have a choice about whether or not to test on animals.” All it would take to completely end animal testing would be the usage of the thousands of already existing cosmetic ingredients available.
*WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
The pain they go through in laboratories is unimaginable. How is this still happening? pic.twitter.com/4lNatj158d
— PETA (@peta) March 31, 2017
For this reason, many have criticized Grande, questioning why she would choose to associate her brand with such a cruel and anti-vegan company. It’s one thing to claim to love animals and follow a vegetarian/vegan diet, but it’s another to actually follow the lifestyle and fully dedicate yourself to it. Hopefully Ariana Grande never collaborates with the company again.
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THE HSI HAS NUMEROUS WAYS YOU CAN HELP PUT AN END TO COSMETICS ANIMAL CRUELTY LISTED HERE
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