vegan grouchiness about cvs and razors.

so, one of my favorite vegan blogs, veggie beauty, has been posting updated information for different companies and whether they test or not, perform 3rd party testing, sell in china, etc., spurred by the recent urban decay debacle.

i was reading my blogroll yesterday, and there was an updated post regarding cvs, which happens to be my favorite drugstore, because they don’t test their cvs brand products on animals… or do they?

from veggie beauty (emphasis mine):

CVS statement!

“Thank you for contacting CVS/pharmacy regarding our views on animal testing.

Our present policy is: “We do not use animal testing as a standard procedure for any products marketed under the CVS brand label.” In addition, we have asked our testing laboratory to seek all possible alternatives to using laboratory animals in the testing process.

We understand your compassion regarding this issue and appreciate you expressing your concerns. If you have any further questions or concerns you may contact us at 1-800-746-7287. Monday through Friday. 8:30 am to 7 pm ET.

Have a wonderful day.”

from their vague language about “seeking all possible alternatives” to animal testing, it sounds like they MAY test. veggiebeauty has removed them from her list of vegan-friendly companies, and i won’t be using their products either.

why can’t companies just be straightforward and say, “no, we don’t test on animals at all,” full stop? (yes, i know, some companies do this). i loved cvs products— their sunscreen, their face wash, their vanilla-mint mouthwash, their women’s six-blade razor (my holy grail razor— to the point where i wrote an actual letter on paper to the cvs company headquarters in woonsocket, ri to ensure that it did not contain any animal by-products in the lubricating strip [it does not contain any by-products, fwiw]).

so, the hunt is on for another vegan-friendly razor. i’ve used the recycline razors in the past and they suck, at best. razor burn and cuts and bad bad bad. i like the idea of a recycled razor, it’s more eco-friendly and all that, but it frankly does not do a good job. plus, the plastic is made out of recycled stonyfield farms yogurt cups, which, yeah, i know, plastic is plastic, but it still bugs me on some level.

personna razors made by the american safety razor company are vegan-friendly. i used to be able to find them at wal-mart (evil empire, i know), but lately i cannot find them anywhere. actually, no, not true, i found their m5 magnum men’s razor at shaw’s supermarket last night, packaged to be a shaw’s brand razor but it’s definitely the magnum razor as the package states it is made by the american safety razor company. unfortunately, at shaw’s it’s quite expensive— $7.99 for the razor and $7.99 for the refills, whereas before i was used to spending $4-5 for the razor and the refills. i even wrote to the razor company asking where in my area i could purchase their product, and they were unable to help me, instead suggesting i speak to the managers at my local stores and ask them to carry their product. perhaps rite aid sells them under their brand? both walgreens and cvs are out of the equation now, because they both test (walgreens definitely does, according to peta, and cvs is suspected, as mentioned above). i can also purchase the razors and refills straight from personna themselves on their webstore, but there are shipping costs and it seems environmentally wasteful to buy a silly thing like a razor online.

maybe i’ll just stop shaving. my skin is very sensitive and i’m sick of the razor burn and red bumps and irritation and itchiness and five o’clock shadow i get even when i shave that morning. ugh.

EDIT: i just found cvs’s former policy regarding animal testing, which i had saved in my gmail account. here it is (emphasis mine):

“CVS Brand Products Our goal when developing a CVS Brand product is to meet or exceed national brand performance. We measure our success in achieving this goal through several vehicles including CVS sponsored in-home testing. We also seek to improve products based on customer feedback. Last year, for example, we developed medication dosage cups that were easier to read and modified blister packs to make them easier for the customer to open.

The manufacturing of CVS Brand products is contracted through third-party vendors who are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. All CVS Brand products are evaluated at least annually and reviewed for their adherence to specifications and performance. Prior to acceptance as a CVS Brand product, potential new store products must demonstrate compliance through rigorous testing with all quality standard requirements as detailed in our Test Requirements protocol. This protocol specifically states animal testing is prohibited. In addition to testing, the supplier must have on file the documentation to substantiate that their products are not tested on animals or use adulterated materials.”

EDIT #2: the above statement is still up on their website: http://info.cvscaremark.com/our-company/corporate-responsibility/customers-and-patients/quality-and-safety