April is Animal Cruelty Awareness Month, and this is something which I personally hold quite close to me. I have a cat, who I love so much, but I did not really get him by choice. When my partner and I moved into our house, the people who lived there before us had moved out…but left this little cat behind. We did not know anything about him, other than his name. Noel. Not very fitting for a cat, I first thought, but looking at him now…he’s 100% a Noel.
I’ve had cats all my life, so could not understand why someone would want to leave an innocent animal behind to fend for themselves. These people did not know that my partner and I were nice people, and if we would take care of Noel or not. I could tell he had not been treated the best, and he was very wary of us, especially my partner. I don’t think he liked men very much! But with careful actions (and lots of ham) Noel now sleeps on the end of our bed and is very much the opposite of how he first was.
Noel is one of the reasons I am so aware of animal cruelty and neglect, and I can see that our beauty and skincare industry is very hot on it now-a-days. Many, many brands I have come across now proudly wear a cruelty-free badge, and this is amazing to see. A lot of these brands are also aware of how much plastic and waste they are producing, and are trying to reduce this. In turn, less waste means less plastic etc going into the sea, and I know I have certainly seen the unfortunate photos of turtles with plastic wrapped around their necks.
Making products this way is also more sustainable for the environment, and you know as a client you are doing good by purchasing these, but also that these products are made with better quality, natural ingredients, that in turn will be overall better for your skin.
If you want to help out in any way, I know from researching a few charity sites, that these are the best ways to help:
- Offer your time to a charity or organisation (following COVID guidelines)
- Sponsor an animal
- Start a fundraising campaign
- Make adopting an animal your first option, over buying from a breeder
I hope this little blog may have shed some light onto this issue for some of you, or even inspired others to look out for brands that have that cruelty-free logo, or clean plastic promise. Not only that, but to always give our little furry friends that extra little bit of love.