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The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry

Received: 15 July 2020     Accepted: 27 July 2020     Published: 30 July 2020
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Abstract

Animal testing in the cosmetics industry have always been a controversial topic, which plays a vital role in the development and safety of cosmetics, but at the same time it seriously violates the survival rights of experimental animals. This study is a dialectical analysis of the business theme from two very different perspectives of thought: Utilitarian and Kantian. Utilitarianism advocates the pursuit of maximum happiness. Happiness involves not only those involved in the act but also everyone affected by it. Animals experimented in the cosmetics industry suffered great pain and did not get happiness, which means that the cosmetics industry goes against the morality of utilitarianism. Therefore, animal experiments conducted by the cosmetics industry are unethical. Kantian is very different from the utilitarianism in that Kantian believes that whatever the outcome, at least some actions are right or wrong. In this case, animal testing is justified in the cosmetics industry, mainly because it helps protect consumers of these products from the unknown consequences of their use. From a Kantian point of view, animal testing in the cosmetics industry is moral and beneficial. Based on the above two arguments, it is concluded that animal experiment is an indispensable link in the cosmetics industry. At the same time, relevant practitioners should respect the survival rights of experimental animals and conduct animal experiments with scientific and humane procedures to minimize the harm to experimental animals.

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12
Page(s) 112-116
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Animal Testing, Utilitarian, Kantian, Cosmetic, Fair Trade

References
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[2] Davies, K. C. (2011). The Hidden Costs of Sexier Lipstick: Animal Testing in the Cosmetic Industry. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 33 (3), 245-250. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2494.2010.00621.x
[3] Humanesociety.org. (2018). Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing: The Humane Society of the United States. Retrieved from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/cosmetic_testing/qa/questions_answers.html
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[8] Foex A. (2007). The Ethics of Animal Experimentation. doi: 10.1093/0195181794.001.0001.
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[13] Carrier, J. G., Luetchford, P., &Luetchford, P. (2012). Ethical Consumption: Social Value and Economic Practice.
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[16] Human Research Australia. (2018). Be Cruelty-Free Australia: Ending Cosmetics Animal Testing. Author.
[17] Singer, P. (2006). Why Pay More for Fairness? by Peter Singer. Retrieved from https://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/200604--.htm
[18] Bowie, N. E. (2002). A Kantian Approach to Business Ethics. A Companion to Business Ethics, 3-16. doi: 10.1002/9780470998397.ch1.
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[20] Paixão, R. L., & Schramm, F. R. (2011). Ethics and animal experimentation: what is debated? Cadernos de SaúdePública, 15 (suppl 1), S99-S110. doi: 10.1590/s0102-311x1999000500011.
[21] Agbude, G. A., Ogunwede, J. K., Godwyns-Agbude, J., Wogu, I. P., &Nchekwube, E. (2015). Kant’s Categorical Imperative and the “Business” of Profit Maximization: The Quest for Service Paradigm. Technology and Investment, 06 (01), 1-11. doi: 10.4236/ti.2015.61001.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Yue Wang, Yuan Zhao, Fuhui Song. (2020). The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry. Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(4), 112-116. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12

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    ACS Style

    Yue Wang; Yuan Zhao; Fuhui Song. The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2020, 8(4), 112-116. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12

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    AMA Style

    Yue Wang, Yuan Zhao, Fuhui Song. The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry. Humanit Soc Sci. 2020;8(4):112-116. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12,
      author = {Yue Wang and Yuan Zhao and Fuhui Song},
      title = {The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry},
      journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
      volume = {8},
      number = {4},
      pages = {112-116},
      doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20200804.12},
      abstract = {Animal testing in the cosmetics industry have always been a controversial topic, which plays a vital role in the development and safety of cosmetics, but at the same time it seriously violates the survival rights of experimental animals. This study is a dialectical analysis of the business theme from two very different perspectives of thought: Utilitarian and Kantian. Utilitarianism advocates the pursuit of maximum happiness. Happiness involves not only those involved in the act but also everyone affected by it. Animals experimented in the cosmetics industry suffered great pain and did not get happiness, which means that the cosmetics industry goes against the morality of utilitarianism. Therefore, animal experiments conducted by the cosmetics industry are unethical. Kantian is very different from the utilitarianism in that Kantian believes that whatever the outcome, at least some actions are right or wrong. In this case, animal testing is justified in the cosmetics industry, mainly because it helps protect consumers of these products from the unknown consequences of their use. From a Kantian point of view, animal testing in the cosmetics industry is moral and beneficial. Based on the above two arguments, it is concluded that animal experiment is an indispensable link in the cosmetics industry. At the same time, relevant practitioners should respect the survival rights of experimental animals and conduct animal experiments with scientific and humane procedures to minimize the harm to experimental animals.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry
    AU  - Yue Wang
    AU  - Yuan Zhao
    AU  - Fuhui Song
    Y1  - 2020/07/30
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12
    T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
    JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
    JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
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    EP  - 116
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8184
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12
    AB  - Animal testing in the cosmetics industry have always been a controversial topic, which plays a vital role in the development and safety of cosmetics, but at the same time it seriously violates the survival rights of experimental animals. This study is a dialectical analysis of the business theme from two very different perspectives of thought: Utilitarian and Kantian. Utilitarianism advocates the pursuit of maximum happiness. Happiness involves not only those involved in the act but also everyone affected by it. Animals experimented in the cosmetics industry suffered great pain and did not get happiness, which means that the cosmetics industry goes against the morality of utilitarianism. Therefore, animal experiments conducted by the cosmetics industry are unethical. Kantian is very different from the utilitarianism in that Kantian believes that whatever the outcome, at least some actions are right or wrong. In this case, animal testing is justified in the cosmetics industry, mainly because it helps protect consumers of these products from the unknown consequences of their use. From a Kantian point of view, animal testing in the cosmetics industry is moral and beneficial. Based on the above two arguments, it is concluded that animal experiment is an indispensable link in the cosmetics industry. At the same time, relevant practitioners should respect the survival rights of experimental animals and conduct animal experiments with scientific and humane procedures to minimize the harm to experimental animals.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou, China

  • School of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou, China

  • Student Affairs Office, Shan Dong College of Electronic Technology, Jinan, China

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