Good News for Animals

Getting up at 5:55 AM instead of 5:15 AM makes such a difference.  It's not something I'll be able to do again in the near future during the work week, but I'm grateful for the extra sleep today because of so. many. tests.  Something else I'm grateful for?  Fake skin!  Okay, that sounds odd, but what I'm talking about is the fake skin being produced as a substitute for animals in product testing. 

MatTek grows its own human skin, and then sells it to companies that want it—companies that make laundry detergent, makeup, toilet bowl cleaner, anti-aging creams, tanning lotion.  Without lab-grown skin, these companies would be testing products on animals, usually rabbits, shaved to expose patches of naked skin. This practice is straight-up illegal for cosmetics in Europe now, and increasingly ethically dubious everywhere else.  (Sarah Zang)

Isn't it awesome that science is being used to save animals now instead of to hurt them?  While my favorite products are the ones that are natural and don't need intensive testing, I'm excited about the possibility of all companies being able to abandon animal testing practices and use synthetic skin instead.  Science for the win this time!

That's our happy news for the day.

<3 Frances