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Cosmetics and Animal Testing: Critical EU Decisions Imminent
Although cosmetics tests on animals are banned in the EU, companies can still profit from the sales of products if the testing is done elsewhere. The EU has long planned to ban, in 2013, the sale of all cosmetics that have been tested on animals, but now that ban is threatened. For the sake of tens of thousands of animals facing terrible suffering for vanity products, the ban must not be compromised or delayed.
Background
In 2003, the EU finally responded to the long-standing public campaign against cosmetics tested on animals by introducing a ban on animal testing for cosmetics and toiletries inside the EU – not just for finished products but, critically, their ingredients, too. That ban was introduced in stages and became complete in 2009. As a result, no testing on animals for cosmetics now takes place anywhere in the EU.
Recognising that companies may simply conduct the tests outside the EU, however, the 2003 legislation also included a two-stage ban on the sale of cosmetics and toiletries containing ingredients that have been tested on animals. The first stage went into effect in 2009. It banned the sale of cosmetics and toiletries whose ingredients had gone through "acute" animal tests, such as lethal poisoning studies (which determine how much of a chemical will kill animals), eye tests and skin irritation tests. The second stage is due to take effect in March 2013, when the remaining tests (see below) will be banned.
A Historic Victory Under Threat
The sales ban was a spectacular achievement. It declared that testing cosmetics on animals is wrong and – further – that profiting from that testing is wrong. Executives from cosmetics companies worldwide knew that if they wanted to sell to the EU's 500 million consumers, they would need to take a hard look at their policies. The result was a boom in investment in non-animal testing methods and the recognition by hundreds of companies that there are thousands of cosmetics ingredients already approved as safe that don't require any testing. The result was that major companies turned their backs completely on animal testing and ingredients that were tested on animals, and even more excitingly, a number of animal tests have been completely replaced with superior, cheaper and more effective non-animal methods.
But now this good news for science, animals and consumers has taken a dark twist. Under pressure from influential players in the cosmetics industry, the European Commission is considering compromising the 2013 deadline – or postponing it, perhaps indefinitely. Without the threat of losing profits, cosmetics companies' commitment to ending animal testing will certainly wither and animals will continue to suffer and die for the sake of lipsticks and shampoos.
Animal Suffering
If the 2013 deadline is jettisoned, companies making cosmetics and toiletries will still be able to profit from products containing chemicals which have been tested on animals in horrifying ways. These tests can include the following:
- Twenty-eight days and 90 days of forced-feeding experiments
- Reproductive toxicity tests which dose pregnant rats or rabbits to see what malformations will be caused to the babies who are born
- Carcinogenicity tests which may last for years, in which high doses of cosmetics ingredients are forced on animals to see if they will develop cancer
- Skin sensitisation (allergy testing) involving injecting animals with chemicals, leading to potentially painful allergic reactions
The animals will be housed throughout the experiments in very small cages (mice, for instance, in a plastic cage the size of a shoebox), and the chemicals can cause seizures, weight loss, diarrhoea, chronic pain and weakness, liver and kidney failure and premature death. The animals are always killed at the end of the tests, if they survive that long.
What Now?
The European Commission is expected to make an announcement within weeks about its plans for the 2013 deadline. PETA and others have been lobbying hard for no delays and no compromise, but the signs are not promising. Fortunately, the commission does not have the power to sweep away the deadline itself, and any proposal it makes must be approved by members of the European Parliament and the 27 member states of the EU. If any weakening or delay of the 2013 ban is proposed, PETA will redouble its efforts to ensure that the proposal is defeated.
Please take action by contacting the European Commissioner now. Watch PETA's website for the latest developments.
In the meantime, ensure that the products you buy are cruelty-free: click the button below to find out more and see a list of companies that have already stopped supporting animal tests.
