We live in an increasingly sophisticated world, especially on the consumer front, where potential buyers want to know what is inside the products they are considering purchasing and how they are manufactured. The beauty industry, for many years, primarily tested their products for safe topical contact on animals. Animals like mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits were, and still are, in too many instances, used to test the reactions to various agents and combinations of agents contained within cosmetics and hair and skin care products. There are now, however, cruelty free alternative testing means available to test these things. These include in-vitro (test tube) tests on skin cells and donated human body parts. Manufacturers must ensure the safety of their consumers by testing their products prior to their sale and distribution, this is demanded by national regulatory bodies globally..

Animal Testing Is Not Reliable Anyway

Alan Khaiat, president of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association of Singapore, said recently, “I did a study in the late 1980s comparing the data I had on animals to the data I had on humans, and found there was a less than 50% correlation. I switched to in-vitro methods and found an 85% correlation between in-vitro and human results. Animal testing is not reliable, and it is not humane to treat animals this way.” Thus, we have a situation where animal testing is an unreliable means of ensuring the safety for users of cosmetics and it being morally reprehensible too boot, double the reasons to make sure that the beauty products that consumers buy are cruelty free.

European Commission Ban on Animal Testing

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been involved in developing non-animal chemical safety testing. In 2012, a JRC team won the Lush Science Prize for pioneering work in this field. The EC’s Ban on Animal Testing has directly contributed to the rapid phasing out of animal testing for cosmetics in more and more parts of the world. The Cosmetics Directive provides the regulatory framework for the phasing out of animal testing for cosmetic purposes.

Changing the Laws in Australia

In Australia, according to the RSPCA, no animal testing for cosmetics currently occur, but it is, also, technically not illegal to do so. The sale of imported cosmetics, which have been tested on animals or contain ingredients which have undergone animal testing is, also, not illegal. There is a debate going on to have this changed via consultation with and lobbying of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). A Greens bill was tabled, and the ALP has received more than 15, 000 submissions.