Animal-tested cosmetics? Surely they don’t do THAT anymore, do they?
It’s a common misconception that animals are no longer used for cosmetic testing. But the terrible truth is that they are. And what’s more, a planned ban that would ensure all cosmetic products on sale in the EU are 100% cruelty free from 2013 is now at risk from the beauty companies.
There are three animal-based tests that, under current legislation, are still permitted OUTSIDE of the EU for cosmetic products that are imported INTO the EU. These are Reproductive Toxicity (where chemicals are forced into animals over months, possibly years, while researchers monitor any harm done to their reproductive systems or their young); Repeated Dose Toxicity (in which animals are injected with, pumped full of or forced to inhale chemicals repeatedly); and Toxiokinetics (which also involves animals being subjected to large volumes of chemicals).
These loopholes and exceptions mean that plenty of animal-tested nasties still find their way into UK shops and, eventually, into our homes.
An additional factor overshadowing the 2013 ban is the lure to cosmetics companies of the lucrative Chinese market. To be sold in China, cosmetic products have, by law, to be tested on animals. Sadly, this means that some brands previously certified as cruelty-free in the EU are being tempted to return to animal testing, greedy for profit at any cost.
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