Fashion Law Journal
All cosmetic products must be tested before being placed on the market to verify that they are safe for the consumer. Since the beginning of the production of these products, these tests have been carried out on animals.
Although the question of the unethical and inhumane nature of this product quality control method is still relevant today. All of this increased early last month when the Humane Society International released a short film called “save ralph.”
In the short film, we can see Ralph, a rabbit who describes what “his job” is like as a test animal. In the style of a reality show, the cameras follow the rabbit from the time he leaves his “house” until he arrives at the laboratory, where we can clearly see how the other rabbits (co-workers) suffer from the tests.
At the end of the short, we can observe in a crude way the consequences that Ralph presents for the tests, such as the use of a neck brace, blindness, and injuries in his body.
This short film has caused a great impact on the viewer since it has portrayed in a satirical way the crude truth behind the cosmetic industry, leading us to question whether it is really worth all the suffering caused by simply buying a cosmetic.
Since new consumers care about what is behind the product they buy and if companies follow their ideals, this short film is going to change a lot of things in the industry.
Consumers are changing their mindset and searching for products Cruelty-Free. In order for these consumers to know which brands in the beauty and cosmetics industry are free from animal cruelty, Cruelty-Free Kitty publishes the list of officially cruelty-free brands annually.
SILVA (2020, p. 180) says that nowadays the fact is that man’s awareness of animal causes directly impacts his posture as a consumer, making him analyze the products he buys and verify that they do not confront his animal defense ideology. The acquisition of goods is now weighed, making the fashion market have to adapt to this market demand.
In this way, the fashion industry will have to follow and adapt to the new ethical and moral parameters of its public, avoiding alienating its consumers due to preaching positions that violate what they believe.
References:
SILVA, Juliana Maria Rocha Pinheiro Bezerra da. Reconstrução ética da indústria da moda em virtude da nova visão do consumidor para com situações em que importem maus tratos aos animais. In: MOREIRA, Amanda Oliveira da Camara (coord.) Estudos sobre Fashion Law. Do panorama Brasileiro ao Internacional, Brazil Publishing, 2021.
The Humane Society International. Save Ralph, 2021.
Author- Carolina Cecilia Cano Huachin
Bachelor of Law and Lawyer from Ricardo Palma University in Perú, pursuing a Master’s degree in Commercial and Business Law at University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a postgraduate degree in fashion law at Faculdade Santa Marcelina in São Paulo, Brazil. Postgraduate in Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property from the Catholic University of San Pablo in Peru. Specialist in Fashion law and Retail from Peruvian University of Applied Sciences of Peru. Specialist in mergers and acquisitions from Peruvian University of Applied Sciences of Peru. Specialist in Corporate Law from the Lima Bar Association in Peru. She has experience in the areas of intellectual property, consumer protection, contracts and business law. Carolina has two articles approved at the II International Meeting on Fashion Law in RN in Brazil on “Blockchain and its importance in the traceability of jewelry” and “Sustainability in the Peruvian alpaca and vicuña fiber industry”, which later will be published in a book.
