India Ends Animal Testing for Cosmetics!

It’s a wonderful day for animals in India! Indian officials have agreed to ban animal testing for cosmetic products. HSI and PETA have both reached out to me to share the news. The following are press releases directly from each organization.

Humane Society International’s Press Release:

India has banned animal testing for cosmetics following intense public campaigning and legislative advocacy by Humane Society International’s Be Cruelty-Free India campaign, including support from Indian Members of Parliament and State Assemblies.

The Bureau of Indian Standards has today approved the removal of any mention of animal tests from the country’s cosmetics standard. The use of modern non-animal alternative tests also becomes mandatory, replacing invasive tests on animals. This means that any manufacturer interested in testing new cosmetic ingredients or finished products must first seek approval from India’s Central Drug Standards Control Organisation. A manufacturer will be given approval to test only after complying with the BIS non-animal standards.

Troy Seidle, HSI’s director of research and toxicology, said: “India’s decision shows the way for all countries that are still undecided about whether to ban cosmetics animal testing. Those countries should take action now, follow India’s lead and end cruelty for beauty.”

Indian Member of Parliament Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, said: “This is a great day for India and for the thousands of animals who will no longer suffer, yet more work must be done. Our government must go a step further by banning cosmetics products that are tested on animals abroad and then imported and sold here in India. Only then will India demonstrate its commitment to compassion and modern, non-animal research methods and truly be cruelty free.”

HSI celebrates the ban as a major victory for its Be Cruelty-Free campaign, which works to end animal testing for cosmetics worldwide. The next step for Be Cruelty-Free in India is to achieve a follow-up ban on selling cosmetics newly tested on animals in other parts of the world. A sales ban will prevent companies from outsourcing testing to third countries and importing the animal-tested beauty products back into India for sale.

Israel and the 27 countries that make up the European Union have implemented both testing and sales bans to bring an end to cosmetics animal suffering in their respective jurisdictions, and HSI is leading the campaign to persuade India to become the next fully cruelty-free cosmetics zone.

HSI led an intense and high-profile campaign to see the EU sales ban enforced, and last year launched its global Be Cruelty-Free campaign. Be Cruelty-Free is working to achieve similar victories in East Asia, Canada, South America, Russia, Oceania and beyond. The campaign is spearheaded in the United States by The Humane Society of the United States.

PETA’s Press Release:

After an extensive PETA India campaign—which included appeals from high-profile politicians and multinational retailers such as LUSH and The Body Shop as well as lengthy discussions with PETA India’s scientists—the drug controller general of India announced today that testing cosmetics and their ingredients on animals will not be permitted in India. This decision comes on the heels of recently enacted bans on cosmetics testing on animals in the European Union and Israel.

“The end to cruel and unreliable cosmetics tests on animals in India is a victory for animals and science—and the ban’s compliance with international standards will improve trade avenues for our country,” says PETA India’s science policy adviser, Dr Chaitanya Koduri, who has a seat on India’s Cosmetics Sectional Committee and met privately with the country’s drug controller general earlier this week to discuss the ban. “PETA India looks forward to working with the government on the next step: a ban on testing household cleaners and similar products in India.”

During cosmetics tests, harsh chemicals are dripped into rabbits’ eyes, smeared onto animals’ abraded skin, or forced down their throats. More than 1,200 companies around the world—including LUSH and The Body Shop as well as Urban Decay, Paul Mitchell, and Tom’s of Maine—have joined PETA’s list of companies that use only modern and reliable non-animal tests for their products.

For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com.