A weekly series, in which I tackle a Q from a reader looking for green advice.

Question: dear green la girl — is all perfume tested on animals? i want to buy some givenchy but can’t find out what their record is except it’s owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH). I thought i heard somewhere that there’s no way one can buy perfume ethically but have to imagine at least stella maccartney is an exception. any info greatly appreciated! — suzanne

Answer: Hey suzanne — Sounds like you’re mostly concerned about not harming animals. With that in mind, you might find this Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide helpful. The bad news: Givenchy’s on the “companies to boycott” list.

Now, on to better options: If you’re into the spray perfumes — as I am — you might start by checking out out Aubrey Organics or Nature’s Gate. Aubrey Organics has 6 different perfumes; Nature’s Gate offers 3. Neither company tests on animals. Also, the stuff’s paraben-free!

With perfumes, another big issue is safety. Perfumes often list an ingredient called “fragrance” — a sort of euphemism for all sortsa chemicals and stuff in the perfume that may or may not be dangerous. To be safe, your best bet’s to go with a company that has a policy of listing all of these ingredients.

For info on specific perfumes, the best place to go is the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep site. Here’s a list of perfumes, rated and ranked on their safety. This ranking, however, doesn’t include anything about not testing on animals, so you really want to check out the company policy on that before proceeding.

You might also consider scented oils, which aren’t too hard to find. Try to opt for organic ones, whenever possible. In fact, Wendy of Good Clean Fun suggested that I try dabbing her Love Oils on my wrists: “wear your favorite one as a perfume at your next cool green la bash — see who you meet and let me know. It works everytime.”

I’m still testing out that theory –

Siel

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