Blog post 3: Research Topic

Description of Issue
The average male uses 7 to 10 cosmetic products a day whereas the average female uses close to twice that amount. From moisturizers that leave your skin soft and supple to eye drops that keep your eyes feeling fresh, 80% of cosmetic products in the world today have been tested on animals prior to their marketing. Whenever it comes to purchasing cosmetic products, I believe that most people will not consider animal testing as a criteria that will deter them from buying the product. Many household and cosmetic products companies still pump their products into the stomachs of animals, rub them onto their skin and squirt their products into their eyes. It is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrae animals are used annually for animal testing. Some companies proclaim that animal testing is integral in the development of products that are safe for humans whilst animal rights activists argue that animals and humans differ significantly in biology thus making animals testing dangerous and redundant. Whatever the situation may be, the torture and pain that these animals go through cannot go unnoticed.

Research question
To what degree are students even aware of the ramifications of such testing?

Purpose statement
The aim of this research project is to educate students of the science faculty on animal testing, the plight that these animals go through whenever it comes to developing new products. Another aim of this project is to educate the students on other forms of product testing other than animal testing and hopefully they will be more aware of this when it comes to the purchasing of a cosmetic product.

Reasons for attitudinal survey
It is of great importance that we carry out a survey to find out how much the students of the faculty of science know about animal testing, what is their stand on the issue as well as what must be done in order to convince them to give up completely on cosmetics products that have been tested on animals.