Entering the world of luxurious fashion, we come across several high-end brands who rule the mainstream fashion domain with their unique designs, luscious products, increasing demands thus setting a benchmark in the fashion industry but how sustainable and cruelty free these luxurious brands are?
Chanel is one such well-known French luxurious fashion house who meets all the above criteria or even adds more to it. It is a very famous brand among celebrities and other rich people alike because it is said to add jazz in their already wealthy lifestyle but little do they know about it also being a house of cruelty towards animals.
Animal testing meaning testing products on animals before selling it to the general public is a normalized term that we all might’ve come across at least once in our daily life. Chanel allegedly practices various methods of testing on animals to make their products pass the radar of “clinically proven and safe for use” so that it can be trusted by the buyers.
There are various alternatives that can be used instead of animal testing to reduce the suffering of innocent animals but luxurious brands like Chanel seem to turn a blind eye on that which makes it even worse because as a rich brand they have all the monetary incentives required for the said process but still choose to neglect it. This article is an attempt to find information about Chanel’s take on its animal testing practices and create awareness about the harsh realities of animal cruelty walking parallelly with the brand’s success.
How Does Chanel Homes Animal Cruelty?
Chanel might claim that they are completely cruelty free but the absence of any animal testing policy in their official website makes it suspicious for the viewers. It has been claimed by many well-known researchers that Chanel does not test on animals by themselves but their suppliers of the raw materials do it and Chanel also pays others for doing it in some countries to ensure the sale of their products there.
Why does Chanel Pays For Animal Testing?
Chanel Beauty sells its products worldwide and in some countries it is mandatory to first go through animal testing to check its compatibility and to be sure be if it is completely safe for the use by the general public. In mainland China, animal testing is required by the law for most imported cosmetics, so Chanel pays and allows its products to be tested on animals so that it can be sold in stores. Therefore, Chanel is not cruelty free when their products or the raw materials for their products are tested on animals.
Chanel Animal Testing Policy
When surfing through the official website of Chanel, it is difficult to find any policies related to their testing on animals. They have not openly mentioned anything about their regulations and conditions under which these testing takes place which puts the brand under further doubt.
Even though the brand claims of not performing any animal testing activities themselves while making the product but neither have they denied the testing done by their suppliers of raw materials and their branches in different countries where testing on animals is compulsory before sale.
Is Chanel Vegan?
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use and consumption of animals products. Does Chanel practice veganism? The question itself sounds very farfetched keeping in mind the series of animal testing performed under the provision of Chanel.
Products such as perfumes, cosmetics, clothing, etc, use some or the other raw materials from animals such as collagen, milk, honey, keratin, etc, in their products. There maybe some products of Chanel labelled as ‘Vegan’ or ‘not tested on animals’ but that doesn’t necessarily justifies for the other existing products.
Some Alternatives That Can Be Used Instead Of Animal Testing
The use of animals for testing have profoundly been increasing every passing year and it is matter of concern considering the pain, trauma and loss of the lives of millions of animals in this skin crawling practice done by humans in order to make advancements of their own.
Several new alternatives of animal testing have come up in the recent years to tackle the crime done to the animals. We will dive more into the various types of methods that can be used instead of testing on animals below.
Vitro Testing
It is a cell-based test where ‘chips’ containing human cells that mimics the structure and functioning of human organs and organ systems. These chips can be exclusively used in research and testing of any disease or toxicity.
Research with human volunteers
People who’d like to volunteer themselves in the process of testing are given an extremely small one-time dose of the drug and sophisticated imaging techniques are used to monitor them throughout and after the process to track the behaviour of the drug in their body. This method is known as “microdosing”.
Computer (in Silico) Modelling
Computer models that simulate human biology and the progression of developing diseases similar to the actual human bodies have been effectively created by researchers that helps in accurately predicting the ways a new drug will react in the human body.
Human-Patient Simulators
These are lifelike computerized human-patient simulators that replicates the real life human exercises such as breathing, bleeding, and have realistic layers of skin and tissue, and organs. They mimic illnesses and show actual bodily reactions to different types of drugs and experiments.
All the above mentioned methods are effectively created to replace the distress and suffering of the animals and Chanel if they want can easily use any of the above ways for their products to carry out a process of testing without hurting animals.
The concerns regarding Chanel being not cruelty free have surely increased and are constantly being brought in the limelight by several researchers and activists. Many have joined in the movement to resurrect a world which collectively nullifies the cruelty performed on animals. There is a long way to go for Chanel and other luxurious fashion houses alike to create fashion that isn’t brought to the hands of people on the cost of the precious lives of animals.
Animal testing is mostly done for which products of Chanel?
Animal testing is mostly done for products such as cosmetics and perfumes of Chanel.
Which category of Chanel products can be termed as cruelty free?
The products which are labelled as ‘Vegan’ or ‘not tested on animals’ can be deemed as cruelty free.
How does our level of consumption from these high-end brands affects the lives of animals?
Our level of consumption depends a lot in deciding the lives of animals. If we consume more then obviously more animals would be harmed in the process.
