Supermarkets are dodgy. We know this, but in order to change society, we need to show there is a demand for non-animal tested, animal-free products. The Ethical Consumer shows that only three supermarkets even have a trace of an animal welfare policy. These are The Co-operative (which even runs the “Plan Bee” initiative to support honeybees), Marks and Spencer (subject to human rights / Palestine related boycotts) and Sainsbury’s. The first two have fixed cut-off dates for their cosmetics and toiletries, as well as their household products. Sainsbury’s does not, as such, public pressure is needed to make sure they follow suit. Tesco, for the record, whilst having a fixed cut-off date for their toiletries, cosmetics AND household products, are already subject to numerous human and animal rights related boycotts – including one regarding their sale of live tortoises for home slaughter in China. Complaints received insulting responses, saying that this was done in accordance with all relevant Chinese animal welfare standards. There are none, so that must make that pretty easy… As Sainsbury’s is the only one of the ‘big four’ that even has an animal welfare policy… It would be nice if they cared more about animals in laboratories. Sainsbury’s does have a fixed cut-off date for their own brand toiletries and cosmetics, but only a ’5 year rule’ for their household products. I had a few other queries, too, so I decided to send them a message. I received a somewhat insufficient response. I shall include both their response, and my second email, below. Sainsbury’s I said: Hello Your email response failed to adequately answer my enquiry. Perhaps someone could re-read my original email, included below? I shall address the various aspects of your (insufficient) response below. “www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/healthylifestyle/health.htm – Vegan and vegetarian information, guidelines, lists of products and recipes. www.j-sainsbury.com/files/reports/cr2006/index.asp?pageid=91 – Animal testing policy. www.jsainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=327 – Organic policy.” – These websites are not informative on the questions I asked, hence the need to contact you. Furthermore, the questions I asked relating to animal testing were to do with household products – repeating what I have already commended you for in my own email (that you do not test your cosmetics or toiletries on animals) does not answer the question. “Our own brand apple and orange juices have no shellac on them. Any other products we would need full descriptions and item numbers to be able to fully check for you.” – This was somewhat helpful, although if there is shellac in any product that is labelled as vegan, Sainsbury’s would be in breach of Trading Standards. If you label products where you are not sure they are vegan as vegetarian, this is not a problem. I would specifically like to enquire about your “Smart Price Apple Pies” – which, for example, are labelled as vegan. “Sainsbury’s is against animal testing and funds research into alternatives. No Sainsbury’s own-label cosmetic, toiletry or household cleaning product has been tested on animals. None of the raw materials used in these products have been tested on animals either by or on behalf of Sainsbury’s since 1998. We fund research into alternatives to animal testing and are a five-star corporate member of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME).” – All very good and I am aware of this. But this does not answer my question regarding household products. It is nice that you do not pay for others to rub shampoo or shampoo ingredients into the eyes of rabbits, but I am still unhappy that you use ingredients that have been rubbed into the eyes of rabbits 5 years ago, on a rolling rule. If you are unable to answer this question yourself, can I please ask that you refer it to the appropriate department. Please refer to my original email and full questions below. “Customers have the right to be completely confident in the food they buy at Sainsbury’s. Our product safety management system helps to ensure that all own brand products in our stores meet the highest standards of safety. Product labelling and information leaflets provide up to date information to customers and help them identify any risk factors associated with products and to prepare food safely” – Good. So does this mean you can provide me with your criteria for labelling a product as vegan, as requested? “Food safety is considered at every stage from product design and production to transportation and sale in store. We undertake regular inspections to ensure we meet the high standards of hygiene and safety from our suppliers through to our stores.” – This is great. But completely irrelevant to the questions I asked. “We would not approve of, nor authorise a third party to put detailed product information onto a website concerning our products, as fast as the information can be uploaded to the site it could go out of date and the third party would have no way of knowing that they are giving the public correct information. All our products ingredients/specifications are subject to change at any time.” – With all due respect, I am free to publish anything I want and do not require authorisation from anyone unless it infringes copyright or is untruthful. Everything Pretty Veggies publishes is date-stamped, and will warn consumers to thoroughly check what they buy for themselves, too. I think you will also find that Sainsbury’s does and has authorised such a publication, in the Animal-Free Shopper, published by the Vegan Society. The need for groups like Pretty Veggies, The Vegan Society, Naturewatch, BUAV, or the Ethical Consumer, has arisen out of the lack of published information available for consumers that are concerned about the ethics of what they are consuming. Information is all that we ask for. There will be no need for publishing of any lists or information if Sainsbury’s, as requested, assures us of the accuracy of its “vegan” definition, and extends this labelling to its own brand cosmetics and toiletries (so, funnily enough, we can buy more of your products!). We can simply say that Sainsbury’s own labelling is sufficiently trustworthy. This is already the case with Superdrug and the Co-op. I simply want to widen the options for vegans and vegetarians who already shop at Sainsbury’s for food and struggle to find their cosmetics and toiletries elsewhere, or would be torn between yourselves and say, Morrisons, and decide to buy animal-tested, non-vegan products there because they need these products urgently and simply do not know that Sainsbury’s is a better option. Please also let me know if you are planning to seek BUAV approval for your cosmetics and toiletries, for which you would be highly likely be eligible. This would be a wonderful move for Sainsbury’s, solidifying and publicising your existing commitment to eradicating animal testing for cosmetics and toiletries. I hope to receive a more thorough response to the above, as well as my previous email included below. I would also appreciate the courtesy to spell my name correctly. Kind Regards Sainsbury’s said: Thanks for your email and interest in our own vegetarian, vegan products and our animal testing policies. If you go to our websites: www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/healthylifestyle/health.htm – Vegan and vegetarian information, guidelines, lists of products and recipes. www.j-sainsbury.com/files/reports/cr2006/index.asp?pageid=91 – Animal testing policy. www.jsainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=327 – Organic policy. You will find valuable information on all our policies at the above websites. Our own brand apple and orange juices have no shellac on them. Any other products we would need full descriptions and item numbers to be able to fully check for you. In addition, Sainsbury’s own-label cosmetics & toiletry range is approved under the Humane Cosmetics standard (HCS) run by leading animal campaigners British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), the anti-vivisection organisation, under their Humane Cosmetics Standard and is listed in their Little Book of Cruelty Free. Sainsbury’s is against animal testing and funds research into alternatives. No Sainsbury’s own-label cosmetic, toiletry or household cleaning product has been tested on animals. None of the raw materials used in these products have been tested on animals either by or on behalf of Sainsbury’s since 1998. We fund research into alternatives to animal testing and are a five-star corporate member of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME). Customers have the right to be completely confident in the food they buy at Sainsbury’s. Our product safety management system helps to ensure that all own brand products in our stores meet the highest standards of safety. Product labelling and information leaflets provide up to date information to customers and help them identify any risk factors associated with products and to prepare food safely. Food safety is considered at every stage from product design and production to transportation and sale in store. We undertake regular inspections to ensure we meet the high standards of hygiene and safety from our suppliers through to our stores. We would not approve of, nor authorise a third party to put detailed product information onto a website concerning our products, as fast as the information can be uploaded to the site it could go out of date and the third party would have no way of knowing that they are giving the public correct information. All our products ingredients/specifications are subject to change at any time. We’re grateful to you for taking the time to contact us. All customer feedback helps us to constantly improve both our products and services. We look forward to seeing you in store soon. I said: Dear Sainsbury’s A new store has opened near to my home, and I was delighted to see a wide range of vegan-labelled own brand products in store. Of course, more are always welcome. As I run a cruelty-free cosmetics and toiletries campaign, Pretty Veggies, at www.prettyveggies.org.uk, and am closely associated with a vegan, fair-trade, organic catering campaign, Veggies, at www.veggies.org.uk, I am especially interested in Sainsbury’s and its policies on animal testing, organic, and vegan items. I will try and put things under headers to make things a little clearer. Firstly, I would like to know about the definition of vegan used in your products. – production lines – I note that quite a strict definition appears to have been used, as some products that are vegan in intent but may contain traces of animal products from the production line have been excluded. Some vegans are however more fussed about where their money goes and are not allergic nor adverse to minor, potential traces – so in these cases, it might be worth researching whether some products could be labelled as vegan, but with a starred reference that it may contain traces of animal products – I have seen this elsewhere. I personally am not allergic, and as long as something is vegetarian and has only a possibility of an insignificant trace of animal products that my money did not go into, I am less concerned. I am also aware that in many cases, this is more covering one’s back because it is an outside possibility, to avoid customers with allergies being affected. – shellac – Own brand products that contain fruit and vegetables commonly glazed with shellac are labelled as vegan. Whilst I am sure Sainsbury’s have done their research, for my own peace of mind I wanted to confirm that products such as your own-brand apple and orange juices or basic apple pies are not made from fruit that have at one point been unnecessarily glazed in shellac. Veganism obviously covers the production process as well, as such, not real ales are sometimes not vegan if clarified through non-vegan products. – toiletries and cosmetics – I was delighted to read about your fixed cut-off date policy for all your own brand toiletries and cosmetics in the Naturewatch Compassionate Shopping Guide. This means I can recommend such products to people that already shop at Sainsbury’s and are concerned about animal testing. I would also like to recommend your own-brand cosmetics and toiletries to vegans, too, however my checking of a few items in store revealed no such labelling. I would very much like to see a “suitable for vegans” label on your cosmetics and toiletries, similar to that seen in Superdrug or the Co-Op. Veganism extends to more than food products, so it would be great if you kept a list of toiletries and cosmetics that are suitable for vegans, too. Alternatively, if this list already exists and new packaging cannot be implemented initially, I would appreciate a copy of it. Once obtained, I can publish this online and forward it on to the Vegan Society, who will dedicate more space to Sainsbury’s to cover your vegan toiletries and cosmetics in their Vegan Shopper publication, as well as online. Many of the common non-vegan items used in toiletries and cosmetics have suitable and cost-effective vegan alternatives. As such, Superdrug and Co-Op have managed to put such labelling on a large selection of their range. – household products – Whilst I am delighted that Sainsbury’s has declared a fixed cut-off date for the animal testing of your cosmetics and toiletries, that applies to both your products and the suppliers of ingredients, I remain concerned about your household products. A ‘five year rule’ as opposed to a fixed cut-off date is highly insufficient. It means that you are continuing to fund animal testing, just waiting 5 years for the results of it. Whether the animals suffered last week or 5 years ago, it is unacceptable to financially reward those that inflicted their suffering. If you continue to reward those suppliers, they will continue to inflict suffering. You obviously already recognise this, as you have rightly set a fixed cut-off date for your cosmetics and toiletries. Other supermarkets, such as the Co-Op, Marks and Spencer and Tesco, have set a fixed cut-off date for their household products, too. Is it possible that Sainsbury’s is considering following suit? If so, could you let me know how far along you are in this process? – BUAV approval – Further to the above, it is worth noting that if Sainsbury’s set a fixed cut-off date for its household products as well as its toiletries and cosmetics, it would be eligible for BUAV approval – a cost-effective means of promoting Sainsbury’s ethical decision and winning a new, ethical, customer base. This would fit in with Sainsbury’s desire to become more sustainable. More and more major brands and retailers are acquiring BUAV approval and it would be fantastic if Sainsbury’s, as one of the UK’s largest supermarkets, followed suit. I hope this message is well-received, and I would appreciate a response as soon as the relevant information is available. If you have anything positive to report or important information, I would appreciate confirmation of this in writing so I can publish this online and forward information to Naturewatch, BUAV and the Vegan Society, as appropriate. Kind Regards
