The Body Shop Launches Campaign To Ban Animal Testing

Mumbai: The Body Shop recently launched a new campaign for a global ban on cosmetics animal testing on products and ingredients by 2020. Partnering with the leading non - profit organization working to end animal testing, Cruelty Free International, The Body Shop will take the campaign to the highest authority, the United Nations, and request an international convention banning cosmetics testing on animals.

The potential for animal testing is still a huge risk around the world, with over 80% of countries still having no laws against testing in cosmetics. Despite the fact that most countries do not require safety data based on animal tests and reliable alternatives are available. Cruelty Free International estimates that approximately 500,000 animals are still used in some countries in cosmetics testing every year.

Speaking on the campaign, Jacqueline Fernandez, Brand Ambassador of The Body Shop India says, "Real beauty cannot be achieved at the cost of harming anyone especially animals. The concept of animal testing for cosmetic brands should be banned. A socially responsible conglomerate would prefer not to implement testing measures that prove hazardous to anyone's health. That's why I extend support to The Body Shop's noble initiative to end this atrocious practice across this industry by launching a campaign to spread a global ban on animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredients. I request you all to sign the petition and save our animals."

Shriti Malhotra, COO, The Body Shop India says, "We are pleased to say that India was the first country in South Asia to ban Animal Testing in 2013. The Body Shop is proud to be a cruelty free brand and a staunch supporter of effective, modern,  non-animal alternatives to cosmetic animal testing. With our' Forever Against Animal Testing' (FAAT) campaign we are asking our customers to help us end the unnecessary and out-dated practice of animal testing for good by signing the petition in our stores or on our website."

Rules on animal testing in cosmetics are currently patchwork, with legislation differing around the world leaving consumers ill informed. Traditional animal tests have never been validated for their use in reliably detecting the safety of cosmetic products and ingredients. There are now modern alternatives such as artificially grown human skin, that are, in the majority of cases, as effective as the animal test they replace and have been validated by authorities.

Jessie Macneil - Brown, Senior Manager International Campaigns and Corporate Responsibility, The Body Shop, says: “The Body Shop passionately believes that no animal should be harmed in the name of cosmetics and that animal testing on products and ingredients is outdated, cruel and unnecessary. This is why The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International have partnered to deliver the largest and most ambitious campaign ever to seek a global ban on the use of animals to test cosmetic products and ingredients.

“This campaign will finish what we both started back in the 1980s.  We are calling on at least 8 million people from every corner of the globe who care about animal welfare to join our cause and sign our petition. We will take this petition to the United Nations to compel them to create a global law a ban animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredients. With an international law enforced, consumers would finally be confident that any cosmetics they buy are cruelty free. It's time to end animal testing for cosmetics purposes once and for all.  Join us to make it happen.”

Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International says: “People are confused about animal testing.  The world over, people want this cruel practice to end, yet existing laws are a patchwork of different rules with some very big gaps. While more and more countries require non-animal safety tests and many have taken steps to prohibit cosmetics testing on animals, there is more work to be done.  Where animal testing is allowed – on both products and ingredients - most countries do not require testing data to be made available to the public or even to regulators. This makes it extremely difficult to know how widespread animal testing is. What we know is that one single test may involve hundreds of animals.  If just one company or one country relies on animal testing, the impact on animal lives could be huge. Because 80% of countries around the world still allow animal testing for cosmetics, a global ban is the only way to truly eliminate animal suffering. We are delighted Cruelty Free International and The Body Shop are together campaigning for a ban that would finally end animal testing forever.”

The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International's new campaign is calling for an international ban on animal testing in cosmetics, on both products and ingredients, everywhere and forever. It is the most ambitious campaign ever against animal testing, and aims to engage eight million people to sign the petition calling on the United Nations to introduce an international convention to end the practice once and for all. The petition can be signed online or at any of The Body Shop's 3,000 stores across the world. Consumers are being encouraged to use the campaign hashtag, #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting, on social media to raise awareness of the issue.