The FDA is responsible for ensuring that cosmetics are safely and correctly labeled. This mission is accomplished through the enforcement of the Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act (FD&C Act), related legislation and regulations made under these Acts. “It is a moral imperative that we advance ethical science while protecting animals from the cruelty of animal testing,” said Andrew Binovi, MPP and director of government affairs for the Medical Committee. “The Medical Committee appreciates that the Senate is moving forward with the FDA bill without this provision. We look forward to working with our allies in Congress to prevent the harmful cosmetics provision from returning to the Senate after the November election. Today, animals used for testing range from rabbits and guinea pigs to rats and mice, but some rare cases include dogs. The FD&C Act does not explicitly require the use of animals in cosmetic safety testing, nor does the law require cosmetics to be approved by the FDA before they are placed on the market. However, the agency has always advised cosmetic manufacturers to perform all appropriate and effective tests to prove the safety of their products. It is the manufacturer`s responsibility to demonstrate the safety of finished cosmetic ingredients and products before they are marketed. October: Taiwan bans cosmetic animal testing for finished products and ingredients from 2019. Other U.S.

states want to ban animal testing for cosmetics. Nine states now have bans: California, Nevada, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, Hawaii, New Jersey and Louisiana. We also believe that the use of scientifically valid alternative methods to entire animal testing should be considered before using animals. In 1997, the FDA merged with thirteen other federal agencies to form the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Alternative Methods Validation (ICCVAM). ICCVAM and its support center, the National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM), coordinate the development, validation, acceptance, and harmonization of alternative toxicological test methods across the U.S. federal government. For more information, visit the ICCVAM and NICEATM websites. Some ingredient testing is required on behalf of specialty chemical companies that supply cosmetics manufacturers and the laws that underpin them, threatening to undermine existing bans on animal testing.

January Israel decrees a ban on the sale of all cosmetics tested on animals. February: The Ethical Cosmetics Bill, an act to end the production and sale of cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients tested on animals, is introduced in the Australian House of Representatives. 1944: Draize stimulation tests, involving direct exposure to the eyes and skin of animals, are developed. These tests have been considered the gold standard for cosmetic safety assessments for decades and cause much suffering to animals. 2000: Signing of the law on the authorization of the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). This law established a coordinated effort by U.S. authorities to evaluate and implement test methods that reduce, refine or replace the use of animals. A cosmetic is defined by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) as any product “intended to be grated, poured, sprinkled or sprayed or introduced into the human body or otherwise applied to the human body. to clean, beautify, promote attractiveness or change appearance.

1 Examples of cosmetics are lotions, perfumes, lipsticks, nail polishes, eye and face makeup, cleansing shampoos, deodorants and any product intended to be used as part of a cosmetic product. While some products continue to be tested on animals, there are thousands of amazing brands that are cruelty-free! Keep animal testing out of your cart by downloading the free Leaping Bunny app or checking out the Leaping Bunny guide for a full list of brands that don`t test their finished products, formulations, or ingredients on animals. Some brands also display the Leaping Bunny logo on their products. June: The Australian federal government announces its commitment to ban the production and sale of cosmetics tested on animals by July 2017. Cosmetic animal testing involves testing the finished product, the chemical ingredients of a product, or both. A finished product may contain a lipstick or shampoo, while a chemical ingredient may contain a dye or preservative used to formulate that lipstick or shampoo.