Resumption of Animal Testing in the UK Prompts over 80 brand "Claims"
- Chaileedo Press
- May 10, 2023
- 5 min read
UK, the first country in the world to reject animal testing, recently received approval for animal testing, which means the 25 years of no-animal testing will end in this country.
According to the BBC, the animal testing component of cosmetic testing will be reinstated in the UK. In response to the policy, Cruelty-Free International said that lifting the 25-year ban on animal testing of cosmetic ingredients was "outrageous".
Animal testing resumes after a 25-year ban
The UK government's High Court has expressed support for the government's decision to approve cosmetics to be tested on animals again, the BBC reports. According to a High Court ruling, which found that the government had acted legally in allowing the testing, before a lawsuit brought by animal rights supporters.
As BBC reported, A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are pleased that the High Court has agreed with the Government's position in this case. The government is committed to the protection of animals in science".
Guardian reported that Cruelty Free International (CFI) brought legal action against the Home Office, accusing it of leaving the public “in blissful ignorance” that the department’s longstanding policy apparently changed after February 2019.
The CFI chief executive, Michelle Thew, said after the ruling: “It is outrageous that the government has abandoned the ban on using animals in cosmetics testing, and did so in secret while giving the impression that the policy remained in place.”
The Home Office, which oversees animal experimentation regulation in Great Britain, rejected the CFI’s case as “plainly wrong”, arguing it had not acted unlawfully.
The UK government has been issuing licenses for animal testing of cosmetic ingredients under EU chemical rules since 2019. Despite the UK having left the EU, it has been revealed. Animal testing licenses issued by the UK government reveal that animal testing may include the need to force rats to inhale or ingest to test chemicals commonly found in foundations and concealers. The BBC said it was not clear how many licenses had been issued or to whom.
Animal testing on cosmetics or their ingredients has been completely banned in the UK since 1998. Animal testing is only allowed if the benefits from the research outweigh any animal suffering, such as drugs. However, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the EU body responsible for overseeing the regulation of chemicals, ruled in 2020 that companies involved need to test certain ingredients used in cosmetics on animals to ensure they are safe for the workers who make them.
(Homosalate, a sunscreen ingredient common in concealer and foundations, may need to be tested on animals)
Over 80 brands are dismayed
BBC reported over 80 brands are "dismayed" by the government's new position. "We want the UK to uphold its 1998 position as intended, with no new tests on animals allowed," reads a letter signed by the brands. It notes that "the UK was the first country in the world to say no to animal testing for cosmetics and their ingredients," which led to "innovation in non-animal safety science and assessment approaches." The industry now has a "'toolbox' of non-animal methodologies with which to assess product safety," yet the European Chemicals Agency is "requiring some widely used cosmetics ingredients (and ingredients used in many other types of consumer products) to be tested on hundreds of thousands of animals."
Chris Davis, Global Director of Activism and Sustainability at The Body Shop, commented: “The Body Shop was the first global beauty company to campaign to ban animal testing in cosmetics in 1989, with the UK becoming the world’s first to rule it out in 1998. We share the deep-rooted concerns of our longstanding partner Cruelty Free International that the ban was effectively lifted in 2019, under the radar. Following today’s high court ruling we also call on the government to reinstate the ban immediately. We can’t turn back the clock.”
He added: “Allowing animal testing for cosmetics in the UK would be a devastating blow to the millions of people who have supported campaigns to end this appalling practice for nearly 35 years.
“So, the fight continues and we will campaign vigorously, as our late founder Dame Anita Roddick did, for as long as it takes.”
Dr. Julia Fentem, head of the safety and environmental assurance centre at Unilever - one of the world's largest cosmetic companies - said tests potentially required under the new policy were "unnecessary", and that safety tests could be carried out without animal involvement.
More beauty giants such as L'Oréal and Beiersdorf have already contributed to the fight against "animal testing". In February this year, more than 35 cosmetic companies, suppliers, industry associations and animal protection organizations, including L'Oreal, Unilever, Beiersdorf and BASF, joined forces to call for an end to animal testing by launching the International Collaboration for Cosmetic Safety (ICCS).
A growing number of international beauty brands are also promoting the zero-cruelty beauty philosophy, including NYX, REVOLUTION, Fenty Beauty, The Ordinary, Le Labo, Aesop and others. Meanwhile, several countries or regions, including the UK, EU, New Zealand and Australia, have banned animal testing in cosmetics.
Cruelty-free cosmetics are also a recent global trend. According to Global Data's Q3 2021 consumer survey, 45% of Europeans find vegan claims in personal care products to be somewhat (or fairly) attractive, 33% of respondents agree that they are somewhat more loyal to brands that support green or environmental causes, and 18% vote "completely loyal ".
In 2021, L'Oréal acquired the US zero-cruelty brand Youth to the People, a move seen by analysts as a major sign of L'Oréal's compliance with recent consumer trends. Commenting on the acquisition, Cyril Chapuy, President of L’Oréal Luxe, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Youth to the People brand, its founders and fantastic teams. Because of its solid reputation and remarkable product quality, Youth to the People is a favorite among all genders. Its skincare expertise based on healthy, vegan, high-efficacy formulas makes it a very strategic addition to L’Oréal Luxe."
(Credit: The Youth to the People products)
China embraces "zero-cruelty beauty"
The presence of "zero-cruelty beauty" is growing in the international market. Chinese regulators are gradually embracing the international trend of "zero-cruelty"
In China, regulations have been in place since 2014 that allows for animal testing to no longer be mandatory for general cosmetics manufactured and sold in China, but animal testing is still required for the filing and approval process for imported cosmetics and Chinese special cosmetics.
This requirement made it impossible for a long time for many international cosmetic brands that insisted on rejecting animal testing, mostly through cross-border e-commerce to test the Chinese market, to land in China, especially in the offline market.
However, things took a turn for the worse in 2018 when Cruelty Free International (CFI) signed an agreement with the Chinese government and regulators to collaborate and reach a consensus with Shanghai-based certification and compliance body Knudsen & CRC, Shanghai Fengpu Industrial Park and Oriental Beauty Valley to license some international brands to be exempted from post-market animal testing by manufacturing in China.
On 14 January 2021, the French Federation of Beauty Businesses issued a statement saying that the French National Agency for Safety of Medicines had launched with a qualification platform that allows French manufacturers of generic cosmetics to apply for qualifications related to production quality management systems that comply with the Chinese authorities' regulations. Then the French cosmetics manufacturers can export their generic cosmetics to China without having to undergo animal testing.
Subsequently, from 1 May 2021, China launched a regulation that imported cosmetics were exempted from animal testing. As a result of the policy change, Aesop, which had previously been unable to open shops in mainland China, has finally completed its offline filing and will open two offline flagship shops in Shanghai by the end of 2022.
It is clear that with the relaxation of the animal testing policy, the Chinese market is bound to welcome more brands with zero-cruelty. The international opposition to animal testing coincides with the gradual relaxation of the Chinese market. Under these trends, more cruelty-free beauty will bloom in China and internationally in the future.
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