"Eliminate Animal Products" By: Tiffany Tuschmann

Stella McCartney: Eliminate Animal Products

By: Tiffany Tuschmann

Stella McCartney is a true powerhouse and inspiration to the fashion industry because she stands out among many luxury brand designers due to being a sustainable brand. One of the many important sustainable commitments that Stella highlights among her brand is to eliminate animal products and to never test products (including fragrances) on animals. This commitment is highly important because animal experiments are cruel, unreliable, and dangerous. As mentioned by writer Suzi Scheler, “The Stella McCartney brand is one of the fashion industry’s most ethical brands. They don’t use leather or fur in any of their products, and they’re completely vegan, including their perfume” (Scheler, 2016). Stella stands behind this commitment because she is a true advocate for creating producrts that are cruelty free to animals. 

This commitment helps reverse the use of fragrance tests being done on innocent animals. It is very important that we save our wildlife instead of killing or hurting innocent animals for no reason. Many tests that are done on animals are not that reliable because they don’t go through many of the different diseases that humans go through. To get these animal tests done is also very costly. According to PETA, “Every year in the U.S., animal experimentation gobbles up billions of dollars (including 40 percent of all research funding from the National Institutes of Health), and nearly $3 trillion is spent on health care” (PETA, 2018). If we stop animal testing this will be saving us billions of dollars that could be used for much more important and useful things for our country. 

It is very easy for any fashion company that has a fragrance line to not follow through with animal testing of their fragrances. Many people today actually care if the products that they are buying and using are tested on animals, and it can hurt many brand images if they do. The good news is that today scientists have moved on to develop and use methods for studying diseases and testing products that replace animals and are actually relevant to human health. Some of these alternatives include using human cells and tissues (in vitro method), advanced computer modeling techniques, and human volunteers. The In Vitro method is very fascinating because Harvard’s Wyss Institute basically created “organs on chips”, which mimics the function and structure of human organs and is a lot more accurate than animal testing. Stella McCartney is a great example of how to implement a fragrance in her collection without being cruel to animals by creating a vegan perfume, and also works very closely with PETA to make sure that designers are eliminating the use of leather and furs in their collections. Below are fashion companies that are and are not taking the initiative to eliminate animal testing. Stella McCartney is a pure genius, and is up for any challenge to create luxury products as long as their is no animal cruelty and sustainability is involved. 

                                                      

References:

PETA.(2018). Alternatives to Animal Testing. Retrieved from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/

Scheler, Suzi.(December 12, 2016). Cruelty-Free Perfume Guide: Fragrance Companies That Do And Don’t Test On Animals. Retrieved from https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/bath-body/cruelty-free-perfume/ (Pictures)