The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International partner to ban testing of cosmetics on animals

The Body Shop has launched a campaign for a global ban on testing cosmetics products and ingredients on animals by 2020. Partnering with the non-profit organisation Cruelty Free International, The Body Shop plans to take the campaign to the United Nations and request an international convention banning the tests.

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. This is despite the fact that most countries do not require safety data based on animal tests, traditional animal tests have never been validated for their reliably anyway and 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.

“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that no animal should be harmed in the name of cosmetics and that animal testing on products and ingredients is outdated, cruel and unnecessary,” said Jessie Macneil-Brown, senior manager international campaigns and corporate responsibility, The Body Shop. “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.”

The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International’s campaign is calling for an international ban on animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredients. Claimed to be the most ambitious campaign ever against animal testing, it aims to engage eight million people to sign a 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 3000 stores across the world. Consumers are also being encouraged to use the campaign hashtag, #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting, on social media to raise awareness of the issue.

“We will take this petition to the United Nations to call on them to support a global ban on animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredients,” said Macneil-Brown. “With an international convention enforced, consumers would finally be confident that any cosmetics they buy are cruelty free.”

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Nadya Lukic