From organic to five-free, the importance of what's in our products has become more and more important.

In the same vein, Rep. Jim Moran is sponsoring the Humane Cosmetics Act, which would phase out animal testing for U.S.-made cosmetics within a year and imported cosmetics within three years.

"Consumers value cosmetics and manufacturers want them to be safe for daily use, but we do not have to blind, maim and kill scores of animals to ensure our beauty-enhancing products won't hurt us," said animal rights advocate Santosh Krinsky.

Krinsky is the head of the international personal-care brand Beauty Without Cruelty -- the first to ban animal-testing for its products in 1963. BWC's products are all produced with no animal testing and contain no animal ingredients.

Krinksy has founded and built a number of companies that offer positive alternatives to the toxins and environmentally unfriendly ingredients found in many products, while focusing his attention on developing awareness about the issue of animal testing of cosmetics, which he opposes. 

"In the past, testing was done on dogs, but now it's done on rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and rats. These are conscious creatures with the capacity for immense suffering," Krinsky explained.

"Think about it: Tests are done on these animals because they are biologically similar to us. Doesn't that also mean we should be especially empathetic to their suffering?"

Krinsky, who recently partnered with the Humane Society of the United States' "Be Cruelty-Free" campaign, urges voters to call their U.S. representative and ask for him or her to vote in favor of H.R. 4148. Follow up with a personalized mail or email asking reiterating your request.

In Part 2 of our story, Krinsky will review some of the tests that mainstream cosmetic companies still commonly conduct on animals. You'll definitely want to know the details, so stay tuned tomorrow.