Consumer goods company Unilever has announced its support for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics as part of an ambitious new collaboration with animal protection leader Humane Society International (HSI).
The two groups have also launched a multi-year, open collaboration to develop capability across companies and regulatory authorities so safety decisions for cosmetics are based on non-animal approaches, and by investing in the training of future safety scientists in non-animal ‘next generation’ risk assessments.
“Animal testing for cosmetics has been banned in the EU since 2013, and we hope that an adoption of similar bans in other countries will accelerate the regulatory acceptance of alternative approaches and thereby remove any requirements for any animal testing for cosmetics anywhere in the world,” said David Blanchard, chief research and development officer at Unilever.
HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree initiative is a leading legislative reform in key beauty markets to prohibit cosmetic animal testing and trade.
Unilever said that the group will support the initiative in line with EU models.
Dove
Unilever said that its Dove brand has been accredited by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for the brand’s commitment to not test on any animals across the world.
“We’re very hopeful that through collaboration – amongst companies, NGOs and Governments – it will soon be possible to assess the safety of all cosmetics products without any need for animal testing anywhere in the world,” Blanchard added.
“For over 30 years we’ve used non-animal approaches to assess the safety of our products and ingredients. Dove has enacted a policy prohibiting all animal tests, anywhere in the world, and we are delighted to say that our products will now carry PETA’s cruelty-free logo to assure our customers that Dove does not, and will not, test on animals,” Sophie Galvani added, VP of Dove Global.
“Gaining PETA’s cruelty-free accreditation is an acknowledgment of Dove’s broader commitment not just to care for women’s and men’s skin and hair but also to care for the planet and everyone on it—including animals.”
PETA’s cruelty-free logo will begin to appear on Dove packaging from January 2019.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
