OneKind has called on the European Commission to listen to the views of citizens and ensure that a full ban on cosmetics tested on animals is implemented, as promised, by 2013.
In 2003, the European Parliament and Council adopted the 7th amendment to the Cosmetics Directive, to ban the sale of cosmetics containing ingredients tested on animals from 2009 - for all but three types of animal test (repeat dose toxicity, toxicokinetics and reproductive toxicity. (The actual testing on animals was banned within the EU from 2004.) The sale of cosmetics containing ingredients tested using the three remaining tests was to be banned from 2013, unless legislators allowed the deadline to be delayed.
With thousands of safe and effective cosmetic ingredients available, the ban could go ahead without waiting for alternatives to the remaining three toxicity tests to be developed. But unless the Commission listens to consumers, the ban could be delayed for several years.
Responding to a Commission consultation on a technical report on the development of alternative, we commented:
“OneKind believes that the 2013 ban must be maintained irrespective of the availability of alternative testing methods. There are already thousands of cosmetics ingredients available that have been shown to be safe. The development of new cosmetics does not justify the suffering caused to animals, and any delay in enforcement of the 2013 ban will undermine our supporters’ confidence in the ability of EU decision-makers to listen to the views of citizens.
“We are certain that our supporters do not wish to purchase cosmetics containing ingredients tested on animals. We are concerned, therefore, that the draft report for consultation appears to be concerned primarily with technical aspects of the development of alternatives to animal tests, rather than with the views of EU citizens. The campaign to end animal testing of cosmetics ingredients has been running for decades and has widespread public support, but the consultation largely ignores this.
“The consultation also includes other tests in addition to the three tests mentioned above. However the sale of cosmetics containing ingredients that have undergone animal testing in these other areas is already prohibited under EU legislation and should not be part of this consultation.
“OneKind calls on the Commission to:
1) Ensure that the 2009 ban is properly enforced;
2) Ensure that the 2013 ban is implemented without delay.”