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.

"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.