By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Procter & Gamble, maker of popular household brands like Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Head & Shoulders, today announced it will join with our #BeCrueltyFree campaign to ban all animal testing for its cosmetics products in major global markets by 2023. This decision by one of America’s—and the world‘s—largest personal products manufacturers is an important victory for animals, and it further strengthens the case for banning animal testing for cosmetics in the United States and worldwide.
Photo courtesy of iStock Photo
Today‘s announcement builds upon a long history of cooperation between the multinational corporation and Humane Society International, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Humane Society Legislative Fund. For two decades, we have worked together to develop animal-free tests, pass legislation to require alternatives to animal tests, and fund government research and development, while also pressing for regulations to end animal testing around the globe.
More than 10 years ago, Procter & Gamble and the HSUS founded AltTox.org, a global resource on advancing alternatives to animal testing for manufacturers, governments, and others seeking such options. P&G is also a founding member of the Human Toxicology Project, a coalition committed to replacing the use of animals in chemical testing with faster, better, more humane science based on current understanding of human biology.
Overall, P&G has invested more than $420 million over 40 years in developing non-animal test methods and its researchers have led or co-designed at least 25 cruelty-free methods for testing cosmetic products. Manufacturers are making the investment in this arena because they recognize that consumers continue to demand products free of the cruelty of new animal testing.
In tandem with our campaign to convince the European Union to enact its long-promised ban on the marketing of cosmetics that have been newly tested on animals, HSI launched the #BeCrueltyFree initiative with the goal of extending the EU ban to countries where the practice is still allowed or even required under law. To date 38 countries have enacted legislation to fully or partially ban animal testing for cosmetics, including all countries in the EU, India, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Korea, Guatemala, and just last week, Australia. HSI and its partners played a major role in each of these victories, and we are also driving similar efforts in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
More than 200 manufacturers worldwide have joined the #BeCrueltyFree initiative, including Lush Cosmetics, H&M, and Unilever.
Here in the United States, more than 1,000 personal care brands have committed to no new cosmetics testing on animals. Our HSLF staff has also been working with members of Congress to enact the Humane Cosmetics Act, introduced in the last Congress with bipartisan support and with the endorsement of more than 275 stakeholders in the personal care products industry. We expect it will once again be introduced in this Congress, and having a major manufacturer like Procter & Gamble on board will further strengthen our case.
Last year, the HSUS, HSLF, and others worked with lawmakers in California to make the Golden State—the most populated state in the country and the world’s fifth largest economy—the first in the United States to ban the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.
Testing cosmetics on animals is not only cruel, but it is absolutely unnecessary. In traditional tests, rabbits, mice, rats, and guinea pigs have substances forced down their throat, dripped into their eyes, or smeared onto their skin, and are left to suffer for days or weeks without pain relief. Fortunately, cosmetic companies can create new and innovative products the cruelty-free way by choosing from thousands of ingredients that have a history of safe use. For new ingredients, animal tests are increasingly being replaced with non-animal methods that are often quicker, cheaper, and more reliable as predictors of toxicity in humans.
Today’s announcement from Procter & Gamble is a key milestone. HSI, the HSUS, and HSLF applaud the company for its smart thinking and compassion, and we are proud for the role we have played in making this change happen.
Kitty Block is President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States and President of Humane Society International, the international affiliate of The HSUS.
