AV
magazine
VOLUME CXXIII Number 3 ISSN 0274-7774
Executive Editor Sue A. Leary Managing Editor and Copy Editor Jill Howard Church Staff Contributors Jill Howard Church Christopher Derer Kim Paschen Crystal Schaeffer Robert Skvarla Art Direction Brubaker Design
AV Magazine (USPS 002-660) is published by the American Anti-Vivisection Society for the benefit of its members, and has been in continuous publication since 1892. Annual membership dues: $25.00. Office of Publication: 801 Old York Road, Suite 204 Jenkintown, PA 19046-1611 phone: 215-887-0816 e-mail: editor@theavmagazine.org
SPECIAL REPORT p 22
www.aavs.org
AAVS welcomes requests to reproduce articles that appear in AV Magazine. In all cases, we will require that credit be given to the author and to AAVS. The individual views and claims expressed in AV Magazine are not necessarily those of the organization. AV Magazine is printed on recycled paper.
First Word I REMEMBER, AS A LITTLE GIRL, watching my mother “make up her face” in the morning. It was a fascinating, transforming ritual of applying subtle creams and powders, ending with a flourish of color and cologne. When she was finished, she was so satisfied and confident and, I thought, so pretty. I was so proud she was my mother. As a teenager, I experimented with makeup, only to give My mother, Catherine Murray Leary, on her wedding day in 1948. up. My sky blue-colored eyelids looked a little ridiculous when I stepped back from the mirror. I realized this was a skill I’d have to work to perfect, and I didn’t have the patience or inclination. Gentlemen, all I can say is, it’s harder than it looks! Fortunately, I grew up in a time and place when young women could be “natural,” and that suited me. Then when I learned that cosmetics were tested on animals, that sealed the deal. I rejected them, even though my mother sold them in a department store. How interesting life can be. Now, years later, I chair the Leaping Bunny Program that certifies cruelty-free cosmetics. I got involved to stop animal testing, not to celebrate makeup. But guess what? I’ve come around. I’ve grown to appreciate and value quality products for personal care, such as soaps, moisturizers (it’s winter!), shampoos, and conditioners. And I even got brave enough to try some lipstick and “a little this and that,” as my mother would say, after I turned 40. I don’t want to overstate it, but it’s a kind of miracle that consumers all over the world have stepped up to vote with their wallets to reject animal-tested cosmetics. And now it’s time for a different kind of voting—the regular kind. It’s time for all of us who want to prevent animal suffering to not just think of our power as consumers, but as citizens. All of us can help pass legislation in the U.S. to end the use of animals in the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients. As always, AAVS will help ensure that your voice is heard. Go to our website to send a message to your representatives in Congress. It’s easy, and they want and need to hear from you. Your mother would be proud of you for standing up for what is right. Thank you for caring.
Sue A. Leary, President, American Anti-Vivisection Society
Ask your legislators to support H.R. 2858, the Humane Cosmetics Act
FPO FSC LOGO
Take Action at aavs.org/HumaneCosmeticsAct AV MAGAZINE
1