LUSH and Humane Society International Call for Global End to Cosmetics Cruelty

LUSH and Humane Society International Call for Global End to Cosmetics Cruelty

In a series of posts brought to you by a partnership between Logical Harmony and Humane Society International (HSI), I’m hoping to bring awareness to global issues with animal testing. While this admittedly should have been posted last week, before the EU ban on animal testing went into effect, the information included is valuable regardless.

LONDON (25 Feb. 2013) – As the European Union prepares to finally ban the sale of newly animal-tested cosmetics on 11 March, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics Co-Founder and MD Mark Constantine, and Andrew Rowan, president and CEO of Humane Society International, one of the largest animal protection groups in the world, have sent an open letter to the global cosmetics industry calling on it to abandon animal testing once and for all.

Whilst testing cosmetics on animals has been banned across the EU since 2009, it is still legal to sell cosmetics that have been tested on animals in other countries. That is all set to change from 11 March when a ban on selling newly animal tested cosmetics – first promised by politicians 20 years ago and delayed several times since then – finally comes into force. Any beauty product — from shampoo and mascara to toothpaste and anti-wrinkle cream — will be prohibited from sale if it contains ingredients tested on animals after 11 March.

HSI and LUSH have campaigned for many years to end cosmetics animal testing. LUSH, which has more than 800 shops in 51 countries, first launched its strictly ‘no animal testing’ policy in 1991, becoming a beacon for ethical, compassionate cosmetics. HSI has led an intense and high-profile campaign to see the EU sales ban enforced, and in April last year launched Be Cruelty-Free, the largest global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics worldwide.

In a letter sent to cosmetics industry trade associations around the globe, LUSH and HSI call on animal-testing companies across the world to choose the EU sales ban as the moment to go cruelty-free. The letter reads:

“On 11th March we will witness a truly landmark moment in the history of the beauty industry. The world’s largest cosmetics market, the European Union, which has already banned animal testing of cosmetics within its own borders, will also close its doors to the sale of cosmetics tested on animals in other markets. This sales ban carries with it a clarion call from consumers: Cosmetics animal testing is not welcome and it needs to stop. Surely this must signal a turning point for the beauty industry worldwide to finally call an end to animal testing and commit to going cruelty-free?

LUSH, Humane Society International and others have campaigned tirelessly to end cosmetics cruelty. Over the years we have heard every excuse in the book from cosmetics companies clinging on to animal testing, yet one by one those excuses have been exposed to be hollow and self-serving.

Animal toxicity tests represent outdated science of decades-old techniques that cannot reliably assure consumer safety. The future of safety testing lies with modern, human-biology-based methods. So there is no scientific excuse for animal testing.

There are also many thousands of existing cosmetic ingredients that have long been established as safe for use, meaning they don’t require any new testing. Myriad combinations of these allow companies such as LUSH to innovate to their heart’s content. So there is no business excuse for animal testing.

And of course animal testing causes unimaginable suffering as rabbits and other animals have chemicals dripped in their eyes or spread on their delicate skin. Swollen eyes, skin rashes and organ damage are the ugly hidden secrets of a beauty industry that has dragged its feet on ending animal testing. So there is no ethical excuse for animal testing.

Hundreds of cruelty-free retailers such as LUSH demonstrate every day that producing exciting, safe and innovative beauty products is entirely possible without new animal testing. So as we celebrate the EU going cruelty-free, we urge all those companies still testing cosmetics on animals in the United States, China, Brazil, India, Canada, South Korea, Russia and beyond to please do the decent thing and stop the suffering. Show your global customers that beauty isn’t just skin deep—that it has a heart. You have it within your collective power to stop cosmetics cruelty today. Please do it. Enough is enough.”

To mark the historic EU sales ban, sign the Be Cruelty-Free pledge at hsi.org/becrueltyfree and help HSI create a world where no animal has to suffer and die for the sake of cosmetics.

2 Comments

  1. helping to spread the word on your wonderful as usual informative posts, love ya! put on visionaryvoice youtube, my new channel, since no longer use lukehard242, (but still up so people can still get the info).

    SHINE ON!

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