Our Work

https //www hsi org/our

work/
Home https //www hsi org / About Us https //www hsi org/about us / News & Media https //www hsi org/news media / About SHARE
Cosmetics Animal Testing
How You Can Help https //www hsi org/news

https //www hsi org/how

Donate https //donate hsi org/page/ /donate/ ?&ea tracking id website&recurring Y
media/about_cosmetics_animal_testing/?
you can help/
https //www hsi org share facebook&nb
March

About Cosmetics Animal Testing

https //www hsi org/news

media/about_cosmetics_animal_testing/?
share twitter&nb
About Us
https //www hsi org/about https //www hsi org/news
Humane
us/ Society International
media/about_cosmetics_animal_testing/?
share email&nb

Did you know that in many parts of the world animals in laboratories are still su ering and dying to test cosmetics such
as lipstick and shampoo? They have chemicals forced down their throats and dripped into their eyes and onto their
shaved skin It’s the ugly secret of the beauty industry that Humane Society International’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign is
determined to end

Q What animal are used to test cosmetics?

A We estimate that approximately animals su er and die just for cosmetics every year around the
world These are rabbits guinea pigs hamsters rats and mice While dogs and monkeys are never used to test
cosmetics anywhere in the world they are used to test other types of chemicals

Q What animal tests are carried out for cosmetics?

A Typically animal tests for cosmetics include skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed onto the
shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of rabbits repeated oral force feeding studies lasting weeks or months to look for
signs of general illness or speci c health hazards such as cancer or birth defects and even widely condemned “lethal
dose” tests in which animals are forced to swallow massive amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that
causes death These tests can cause considerable pain and distress including blindness swollen eyes sore bleeding skin
internal bleeding and organ damage birth defects convulsions and death Pain relief is not provided and at the end of a
test the animals are killed normally by asphyxiation neck breaking or decapitation Learn more

Q Why do companies still animal test if it’s not required?

/
 A Almost without exception companies have a choice about whether or not to test on animals In the majority of cases
animal
Ourtests
Workcontinue because some companies insist on developing and using “new” ingredients These are ingredients
that https //www
don’t have hsi org/our
existing safety data because they’re new! So new safety data has to be generated to satisfy the
work/
regulators before a product can go on sale and that means new animal testing

Why can’t they just use non animal test methods? Well they can for many of the test requirements because there are
manyHow You Can
superior Help
non animal tests available But there aren’t non animal test methods available yet for every single test
area that needs to beorg/how
https //www hsi Donateforhttps
performed //donate hsiThat’s
new ingredients org/page/ /donate/
because for so many?&ea
yearstracking id website&recurring
the development of non animal Y
you can help/
https //www hsi org
tests simply hasn’t been seen as a priority and developing new non animal methods takes time We’ll get there for sure
but we’re not there yet So where there are test gaps animal tests are performed

About Us simply stuck to using the many thousands of existing cosmetic ingredients available they would never have
If companies
https //www hsi org/about
tous/
animal test That’s how cruelty free companies work!

Animal testing also continues in the cosmetics industry because of convention that’s the way it’s always been done
animal tests are familiar even if they’re awed Regulators whose job it is to approve cosmetics for use tend to be very
conservative in their approach and can delay approving a product if the manufacturer provides safety data based on
unfamiliar non animal test methods HSI works with companies and regulators to increase their understanding and
acceptance of modern non animal test methods

Some companies claim that they have to test on animals because they sell their products in countries like China where
animal testing is still required by law for companies importing into the country But this isn’t really true They have
chosen to sell in China knowing that to do so will mean new animal testing Truly cruelty free companies such as LUSH
and Paul Mitchell have pledge not to sell in China until the animal test law is changed

Take action https //e activist com/ea action/action?

ea client id &ea campaign id &ea tracking id website and donate https //hsi netdonor net/ea
action/action?ea client id &ea campaign id &ea tracking id website to help us stop the su ering

Q Do these animal tests have scienti c limitations?

A Yes animal tests have well known scienti c limitations because di erent species can respond di erently from each
other and importantly di erently from people when exposed to the same chemicals This means that results from
animal tests may not be relevant to humans under or over estimating hazards to people Animal test results can also be
quite variable and di cult to interpret Unreliable and non predictive animal tests mean consumer safety cannot be
guaranteed

This lack of scienti c credibility is hardly surprising since most of these animal tests were rst devised back in the s
when we had a very basic and crude understanding of how toxicity works in the body and we didn’t understand the
importance or extent of species di erences on test results
/
 Q What are the alternatives to animal testing?
Our Work
https //www
A Cosmetics hsi org/our
companies can stop animal testing immediately and still produce new safe and exciting beauty products
work/
simply by manufacturing the cruelty free way Companies do this by

Using the thousands of ingredients with a long history of safe use because these will have existing safety data and
How You Can
require Help testing animal or otherwise
no further
https //www hsi org/howDonate https //donate hsi org/page/ /donate/ ?&ea tracking id website&recurring Y
you
https //www hsi org Making use of a growing number of advanced non animal safety tests that can better predict how humans will react
can help/
to chemicals More than non animal tests have been validated for use and these modern alternatives can o er
results that are more relevant to people often more cheaply and quickly too That’s because advanced non animal
testsUs
About represent the very latest techniques that science has to o er replacing outdated animal tests that have been
around
https for many
//www decades and haven’t stood the test of time For example there are a number of skin tests
hsi org/about
us/available that use human reconstructed skin such as EPISKIN EpiDerm and SkinEthic as wells as the T neutral
red uptake test for sunlight induced “phototoxicity” and the Bovine Cornea Opacity and Permeability test for eye
corrosion Find out more https //www hsi org/news media/alternative_methods/
This is the approach used by the companies certi ed as cruelty free under the internationally recognized
Leaping Bunny program Find out more about cruelty free companies

Q Have any countries banned animal testing for cosmetics?

A Yes Animal testing for cosmetics has been banned throughout the countries of the European Union since
Thanks in large part to HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign the EU also banned the sale of cosmetic products or ingredients
subject to new animal testing after March Israel imposed a testing and a sales ban in and respectively
And following a vibrant campaign by our #BeCrueltyFree India team India also introduced a national test ban in
Most recently our #BeCrueltyFree Brazil team congratulated the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo for introducing a complete
cosmetics animal testing ban in January and #BeCrueltyFree New Zealand achieved a national cosmetics animal
testing ban in !

However cosmetics animal testing remains legal in most other countries Although many countries don’t expressly
require such testing as it is not prohibited it continues to take place at the discretion of cosmetics companies and
ingredient suppliers Thanks to our #BeCrueltyFree campaign teams around the world we now have legislative bills for a
ban under consideration in Australia Brazil Taiwan and the United States

Q What is HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign doing to end cosmetics animal testing?

A HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign is the largest and most e ective initiative in the world to end cosmetics animal
cruelty We’re advocating for animals by