Proctor & Gamble - Unnecessary Animal Testing

Each year, thousands of animals die in Procter & Gamble laboratories -- the victims of painful, archaic and entirely unnecessary product tests. Caustic chemicals are forced into the eyes of rabbits and applied to animals' shaved and raw skin.

Laboratory workers place the animals in restraining devices so they cannot struggle while the workers apply the chemicals, which burn into the animals' eyes and skin. P&G "scientists" do not sedate the animals or give them pain killers.

Animals sometimes break their necks or backs attempting to escape the pain. Those that survive are used in yet additional painful tests ... until they are finally killed. The victims include rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets and other animals.

P&G refuses to stop testing its products on animals, despite the fact that these tests are not required by any law, and despite the fact that more reliable and humane alternatives do exist.

Procter & Gamble spends millions of dollars to package itself as a responsible, caring company, and claims to be a leader in the development of alternatives to the use of animals in product testing.

But P&G refuses to put its money where its mouth is. In 2004 alone, P&G spent $3 billion on advertising. This stands in stark contrast to the $64 million that P&G claims to have spent on developing alternatives over a 14-year period!

Despite its repeated P.R. claims about being in the forefront of developing alternatives and reducing product testing on animals, P&G's priorities seem clear: in less than 5 days, P&G spends more on advertising than it claims to have spent in 14 years on alternatives to painful and lethal animal tests.

The fact is, P&G says one thing and does another. If they truly shared our goal of eliminating animal cruelty, P&G would not have lobbied to defeat a bill before the California legislature that would have banned the infamous Draize eye-irritancy test.

In reality, P&G relies on these archaic tests strictly for its own protection from liability lawsuits. The truth is that P&G could stop animal testing today without hindering anyone's safety. Until it stops its animal cruelty, the letters P&G will stand for nothing but Pain & Greed!

BOYCOTT THESE ITEMS:

Companion Animal Care: Eukanuba, IAMS (see IAMSKills.com for more details)

Cosmetics: Cover Girl, Max Factor, Oil of Olay

Deodorants: Old Spice, Secret, Sure

Diapers and Baby Care: Luvs, Pampers

Food and Beverage: Folgers, Millstone Coffee, Pringles, Sunny Delight, Torengos

Fragrances: Giorgio of Beverly Hills, Helmut Lang, Herve Leger, Hugo Boss, Old Spice

Hair Care: A Touch of Sun, Aussie, Balsam Color, Clairol, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Hydrience, Infusium 23, Lasting Color, Loving Care, Men's Choice, Natural Instincts, Nice 'n Easy, Pantene, Pert Plus, Physique, Ultress, Vidal Sassoon

Laundry and Cleaning: Bounce, Cascade, Cheer, Comet, Dawn, Downy, Dreft, Dryel, Era, Febreze, Gain, Ivory, Ivory Snow, Joy, Mr. Clean, Swiffer, Tide

Non-Prescription Drugs/Health Aids: DayQuil, Metamucil, NyQuil, Pepto-Bismol, PUR water filtration system, Sinex, Thermacare, Vicks

Oral Care: Crest, Fixodent, Gleem, Scope, Whitestrips

Paper Products: Bounty, Charmin, Puffs

Skin Care: Clearstick, Cover Girl, Max Factor, Noxzema Ohm, Olay

Soap: Camay, Ivory, Safeguard, Zest

WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY!

1. Buy only cruelty-free products. Get in the habit of checking the backs of product labels to find out what company makes the product you are buying and look for statements that the product was not tested on animals. Use our free cruelty-free list to find out which companies do not test on animals, and buy only products from companies on that list. Encourage your friends and family members to do the same.

2. Become a P&G Coordinator today! Start by joining the P&G boycott. Refuse to buy P&G products. Help spread the word to others. Circulate educational brochures, available through IDA, to your family, friends, co-workers and others in your community. View the latest brochures and bumper stickers here. Contact IDA for copies to distribute.

3. Write letters to the editors of your local newspapers and weekly newspapers. Find a listing of all U.S. newspapers at: www.usnpl.com. Make sure to let us know if your letter gets printed. Below is a sample, though using your own words is strongly encouraged. For tips on effective letter-writing, visit: http://www.idausa.org/ir/activist/makenews.html10.

4. Please write to Procter & Gamble CEO, A.G. Lafley, and let him know that until P&G ends all testing, you will boycott their products.

A.G. Lafley
Chairman of the Board and CEO
Procter & Gamble
1 Procter & Gamble Plaza
Cincinnati, OH 45202
1-800-543-1745
513-983-9369 (fax)
www.PG.com

Use P&G's online comment form.

5. Encourage students to ask their school cafeterias to no longer sell Procter & Gamble products, such as Pringles or Sunny Delight, and to use only cruelty-free cleaning products. Creating a petition for students to sign is a great approach.

6. Call and write any companies that currently test products on animals. Let them know you will not purchase their products until they adopt corporate policies against animal testing. Most companies have toll-free 800 numbers that you can call at the company's expense!

7. Write to your congressional representatives and ask them to support any legislation that would discourage companies from using animals for safety tests or that calls for alternatives to animal testing. Visit our online action center to look up your representatives at http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/home.html.

Source: http://www.pandgkills.com