Cruelty Free International and The Body Shop Call for a Global Ban on Animal Testing for Cosmetic Purposes

JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Thanks a Million: Petition Delivered to ASEAN with One Million Signatures

Cruelty Free International, supported by The Body Shop, today calls for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetic purposes.  A petition with over one million signatures, resulting from a two year global campaign, was delivered to ASEAN to further encourage their efforts to ban animal testing in cosmetics in the region.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131025/647813-a )

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131025/647813-b )

At a dedicated event during Jakarta Fashion week, hundreds of supporters joined The Body Shop for a presentation to Cruelty Free International in support of their work with ASEAN and Member Governments.

An EU ban on animal tested cosmetics was widely celebrated in March 2013, however over 80% of the world still allows animals to be used in cruel experiments for cosmetic products and their ingredients.  In ASEAN there are no regulations or laws banning animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredients or the importing of those tested elsewhere.

Cruelty Free International's CEO, Michelle Thew, said: "With the fantastic support of The Body Shop we have been able to carry out our largest global campaign to call for a ban on animal testing for cosmetic purposes.  A million voices have spoken and we are more determined than ever."

Jessie Macneil-Brown, Global Campaigns Manager for The Body Shop International said: "For over 20 years The Body Shop has proved that beauty can be cruelty free.  One million signatures demonstrate the unwavering passion from our customers as we keep fighting for this cause."

Cruelty Free International and The Body Shop will be delivering the pledges to 14 governments and regulatory bodies throughout the world.

Notes

There is no worldwide ban on animal testing for cosmetics. Despite progress with some countries and companies, over 80% of the world still allows animals to be used in experiments. In a global market it is important that all countries ban the practice to avoid testing simply moving around the world to those countries with no effective laws.

Cruelty Free International works with governments, regulators and companies. It has placed the issue of animal testing on the agenda of many governments for the first time as part of a global strategy to tackle product testing.

The Body Shop was the first and most long-standing cosmetics company to take action on the issue of animal testing in cosmetics. In 1996 founder Dame Anita Roddick joined Cruelty Free International's founding organisation the BUAV and European partners in presenting a petition containing 4 million signatures to the European Commission.  The Body Shop was the first international cosmetics company to gain BUAV certification under the Humane Cosmetics Standard, launched in 1997, and proudly displays the Leaping Bunny logo in their stores worldwide.