Humane Society International Welcomes EU Sales Ban on Animal-Tested Cosmetics As Major Moral Milestone

LONDON, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Humane Society International enthusiastically welcomes implementation of a European Union-wide ban on selling newly animal-tested cosmetics, making the EU the world's largest cruelty-free cosmetics market [1]. HSI has led the high-profile Be Cruelty-Free campaign, with celebrity support from Ricky Gervais, Melanie C and Ke$ha, to see the EU sales ban enforced.

"Testing cosmetics on rabbits and guinea-pigs is the ugly face of the beauty industry," said Troy Seidle, HSI's Be Cruelty-Free campaign director. "With the EU closing its doors to animal-tested cosmetics, the beginning of the end of global cosmetics cruelty is within our grasp. EU citizens made it clear that they don't want their mascara or shampoo to have been dripped in a rabbit's eye or force fed to mice in massive doses. Today is a major moral milestone in the history of ending cosmetics animal testing so we send this message to the global cosmetics industry: It's time to take cruelty out of the beauty business."  

The sales ban was adopted in EU law in 1993 but never implemented. Cosmetics animal testing was banned across the EU in 2009. Click here for a campaign timeline.    

"Industry was shocked when the law was passed, and claimed that it could destroy Europe's cosmetics business," said Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, a member of the European Parliament's negotiating team on the cosmetics legislation in 2003. "But since then many businesses have cooperated in the development of non-animal tests and great progress has been made. Cosmetic manufacturers came to realise that it's bad for business if customers associate their products with animal cruelty. A common European measure was necessary because no one country could have introduced these requirements by itself. The hope now must be that it will become the global standard, and that manufacturers across the world will work to eliminate animal testing."

HSI now works in India, Canada, Brazil, South Korea and beyond for a global end to cosmetics cruelty. Sign the Be Cruelty-Free pledge at hsi.org/becrueltyfree  

Notes:

1. From 11 March, companies selling in the EU must use existing instead of newly animal-tested ingredients. EU animal testing was banned in 2009.  

Humane Society International and its partner organisations together constitute one of the world's largest animal protection organisations - on the Web at hsi.org/becrueltyfree.

Contact:

Wendy Higgins, +44-(0)7989-972-423, whiggins@hsi.org