Guest post: Cruelty-free and Green, from MyBeautyBunny.com

Being green is all about being good to Mother Earth, but what about being good to your fellow Earthlings? Animals are a part of our world and we can all be a little "greener" simply by making smart shopping decisions when buying household and health products and beauty aids.

Many health and beauty companies moved away from animal testing in the '80s and '90s when nonprofits like PETA exposed the ugly side of cosmetic testing to the public. However, there are still many large conglomerates who continue to test on animals such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. These companies are not protecting your safety - they are protecting themselves from lawsuits (although animal tests have not proven effective at helping the companies win these lawsuits). And, animal testing on household items and cosmetic products is NOT required by law! Many consumers assume that brands marketed as green, healthy and natural would be cruelty-free. That is unfortunately not the case. Brands such as Aveeno and Neutrogena are owned by these large corporations (Johnson & Johnson in this case) and cannot be considrered cruelty-free.

But, the good news is that many brands do sell cruelty-free products, and they are not necessarily more expensive than their inhumane counterparts. Wet N Wild, Queen Helene, Almay, Revlon, Bonne Bell, Kiss My Face and Yes to Carrots are some good examples of cruelty-free drugstore brands. Method cleaning products and Trader Joe's household products are also cruelty-free. And, don't forget to check your local health food store for a wide selection of cruelty-free products.

One issue with finding truly cruelty-free brands is that brands can call themselves “cruelty-free” if they do not test their finished products on animals, but they can still buy ingredients from suppliers who are conducting animal tests. How many times have you seen "This finished product was not tested on animals," on the back of your shampoo or facial cleanser? There are no regulations for using the term “cruelty-free” like there are with “USDA Organic” labels. So, buyer beware. Now, where can you get more information on which products are cruelty-free? PETA's Caring Consumer (http://search.caringconsumer.com/), the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) (http://www.leapingbunny.org/) and the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) (http://www.navs.org) have some great cruelty-free lists. There are many other great resources on the internet - just have a look around!

We all want to buy cruelty-free beauty products, but many times the problem is that we don’t have time to do research on brands before buying. You can get a free cruelty-free shopping guide from Caring Consumer (http://www.caringconsumer.com/resources_order.asp) or Leaping Bunny (http://www.leapingbunny.org/order.php). Keep these guides handy and don't forget to check the backs of products for the leaping bunny symbol (http://www.leapingbunny.org/) or the PETA cruelty-free symbol (http://www.caringconsumer.com/).

Jennifer Mathews is the Editor-in-Chief of My Beauty Bunny, a cruelty-free beauty blog with hundreds of beauty product reviews, giveaways, tips and advice for fashionable ladies and gents.