Testing cosmetics on animals


Cosmetic testing on animals is a type of animal testing used to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of products for use by humans. Due to the harm done to the animal subjects, this testing is opposed by animal rights activists and others. Cosmetic animal testing is banned in the European Union, United Kingdom, India, Israel, and Norway.

Definition

Using animal testing in the development of cosmetics may involve testing either a finished product or the individual ingredients of a finished product on animals, often rabbits, as well as mice, rats, and other animals. Cosmetics can be defined as products applied to the body in various ways in order to enhance the body's appearance or to cleanse the body. This includes all hair products, makeup, nail products and soaps.
The United States Food and Drug Administration continues to endorse animal testing methods.
Re-using existing test data obtained from previous animal testing is generally not considered to be cosmetic testing on animals; however, the acceptability of this to opponents of testing is inversely proportional to how recent the data is.

Methods

Methods of testing cosmetics on animals include many different tests that are categorized differently based on which areas the cosmetics will be used for. One new ingredient in any cosmetic product used in these tests could lead to the deaths of at least 1,400 animals.
Dermal penetration: Rats are mostly used in this method that analyzes moment of a chemical, and the penetration of the chemical in the bloodstream. Dermal penetration is a method that creates a better understanding of skin absorption.
Skin sensitisation: This is a method that determines if a chemical causes an allergic reaction. The chemical adjuvant is injected to boost the immune system. In the past it was performed on guinea pigs, and applied on a shaved patch of skin. Substances are assessed based on appearance of skin.
Acute toxicity: This test is used to determine danger of exposure to a chemical by mouth, skin, or inflammation. Rats and mice are injected in lethal dose 50%. This test can cause animal convulsions, loss of motor function, and seizures.
Draize test: This is a method of testing that may cause irritation or corrosion to the skin or eye on animals, dermal sensitization, airway sensitization, endocrine disruption, and .
Skin corrosivity or irritation: This method of test assesses the potential of a substance causing irreversible damage to the skin. It is typically performed on rabbits and involves putting chemicals on a shaved patch of skin. This determines the level of damage to the skin that includes itching, inflammation, swelling, etc.

Alternatives

Cosmetics manufacturers who do not test on animals may now use in vitro screens to test for endpoints which can determine potential risk to humans with a very high sensitivity and specificity. Companies such as CeeTox in the USA, recently acquired by Cyprotex, specialize in such testing and organizations like the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, PETA and many other organizations advocate the use of in vitro and other non-animal tests in the development of consumer products. By using safe ingredients from a list of 5,000 which have already been tested in conjunction with modern methods of cosmetics testing, the need for tests using animals are negated.
EpiSkin™, EpiDerm™, and SkinEthic are each composed of artificial human skin as an option for alternative testing. Artificial skin can imitate the reaction actual human skin will have to a product and the chemicals it contains and can be altered to mimic different skin types and ages. For example, using UV light on EpiSkin can cause it to resemble older skin and adding melanocytes will turn the skin a darker color. This helped create a spectrum of different skin colors that are then used to compare the results of sunblock on a different variety of people. To address potential issues with other parts of the human body, research companies such as NOTOX have developed a synthetic model of the human liver, which is the main organ to detox the body, in order to test harmful ingredients and chemicals to see if the liver can detox those elements. Research companies can also use body parts and organs taken from animals slaughtered for the meat industry to perform tests such as the Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability Test and Isolated Chicken Eye Test.
Lab-grown tissues are now being used to test chemicals in makeup products. MatTek is one of the companies that do this. It sells small amounts of skin cells to companies to test their products on them. Some of these companies are those that make laundry detergent, makeup, toilet bowl cleaner, anti-aging creams, and tanning lotion. Without these tissues, companies would be testing their products on living animals. Lab-grown tissues are a great alternative to testing harmful products on animals. One lab was able to grow 11 different types of tissues in a petri dish. The downfall was that the tissues were not fully functional on their own, in fact, many of these tissues only resembled tiny parts of an actual sized human organ, most of which were too small to transplant into humans. The bright side is that they were a great learning experience for many of the students researching there. This technology could potentially be great, but it was a major downfall, 'Ministomachs that took about nine weeks to cultivate in a petri dish formed "oval-shaped, hollow structures".
Many companies have not made the switch to cruelty-free yet for many reasons, one of them being the time it takes for lab-grown tissues to be useable. Animals on the other hand, can mature quickly. Rats, for example, have a much quicker growth rate "From birth to adult, rats take about three weeks to mature and begin fending for themselves. The rodents reach sexual maturity in about five weeks and begin mating soon after to produce the next generation to start the rat life cycle over again". On top of the extremely short time it takes a rat to mature, they can provide us with a complete set of organ systems, not just a paper-thin sheet of cells. Rats can also reproduce, and they do so at a very fast pace "In general, rats produce about seven offspring per litter and can reach up to 14 at times. Typical gestation periods last only a few weeks, allowing each female rat to produce around five litters a year".

History

Animal testing has been going on for centuries. In fact, animal testing has had an extremely long history. The first known tests on animals were done as early as 300 BC. "Writings of ancient civilizations all document the use of animal testing. These civilizations, led by men like Aristotle and Erasistratus, used live animals to test various medical procedures". This testing was important because it led to new discoveries such as how blood circulated and the fact that living beings needed air to survive. The idea of taking an animal and comparing it to how human beings survived was a completely new idea. It would not have existed without our ancestors studying animals and how their bodies worked.
"Proving the germ theory of disease was the crowning achievement of the French scientist Louis Pasteur. He was not the first to propose that diseases were caused by microscopic organisms, but the view was controversial in the 19th century and opposed the accepted theory of 'spontaneous generation'". The idea of germs and other microscopic organisms was a completely new idea and wouldn't have come to be without the use of animals. In 1665, scientists Robert Hooke and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek discovered and studied how germs worked. They published a book about their discovery, which was not accepted by very many people, including the science community, at first. After some time, scientists were able to give animals diseases from microbes and realized that microbes really did exist. From there they were able to use animals to understand how the disease worked, and the effects it could potentially have on the human body.
All of this has led up to something a bit more recent, the use of animals to test beauty products. This has become a very controversial topic in recent years. There are many people who are extremely against the use of animals for this purpose, and for a good reason. "Typically, animal tests for cosmetics include skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of rabbits; repeated oral force-feeding studies lasting weeks or months to look for signs of general illness or specific health hazards, such as cancer or birth defects; and even widely condemned "lethal dose" tests, in which animals are forced to swallow massive amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that causes death". This kind of testing can be vital in finding important information about products but can be harmful to the animals it is tested on.
In 1937, a mistake was made that ended up changing the pharmaceutical industry drastically. A company created a medicine "to treat streptococcal infections", and without any scientific research the medicine was out on shelves. This medicine turned out to be extremely poisonous to people, leading to large poisoning outbreaks followed by over 100 deaths. This epidemic led to a law being passed in 1938, called the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, enforcing more rigorous guidelines on cosmetic products. After this law was passed companies looked to animals to test their products, in turn, creating the first encounters of cosmetic animal testing.

Non-profit organizations

There is a strategy used in animal testing laboratories titled the 'Three R's:' Reduction, refinement, and replacement'.
Due to the strong public backlash against cosmetic testing on animals, most cosmetic manufacturers say their products are not tested on animals. However, they are still required by trading standards and consumer protection laws in most countries to show their products are not toxic and not dangerous to public health, and that the ingredients are not dangerous in large quantities, such as when in transport or in the manufacturing plant. In some countries, it is possible to meet these requirements without any further tests on animals. In other countries, it may require animal testing to meet legal requirements. The United States and Japan are frequently criticized for their insistence on stringent safety measures, which often requires animal testing.
Some retailers distinguish themselves in the marketplace by their stance on animal testing.

Legal requirements in Japan

Although Japanese law doesn't require non-medicated cosmetics to be tested on animals, it doesn't prohibit it either, leaving the decision to individual companies. Animal testing is required mainly when the product contains newly-developed tar colors, ultraviolet ray protective ingredients or preservatives, and when the amount of any ingredient regulated in terms of how much can be added is increased.
Japanese Brands such as Shiseido and Mandom have ended much, but not all, of their animal testing. However, most other leading cosmetics companies in Japan still test on animals.

Jurisdictions with bans

Brazil, São Paulo

in Brazil, banned cosmetic animal testing in 2014.

European Union

The European Union followed suit, after it agreed to phase in a near-total ban on the sale of animal-tested cosmetics throughout the EU from 2009, and to ban cosmetics-related animal testing. Animal testing is regulated in EC Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetics. Imported cosmetics ingredients tested on animals were phased out for EU consumer markets in 2013 by the ban, but can still be sold to outside of the EU. Norway banned cosmetics animal testing the same time as the EU. In May 2018 the European Parliament voted for the EU and its Member States to work towards a UN convention against the use of animal testing for cosmetics.

European Free Trade Association

The rest of the EFTA, including Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Iceland also banned cosmetic testing.

Guatemala

In 2017, Guatemala banned cosmetic animal testing.

India

In early 2014, India announced a ban on testing cosmetics on animals in the country, thereby becoming the second country in Asia to do so. Later India banned import of cosmetics tested on animals in November 2014.

Israel

Israel banned "the import and marketing of cosmetics, toiletries or detergents that were tested on animals" in 2013.

New Zealand

In 2015, New Zealand also banned animal testing.

Turkey

Turkey "banned any animal testing for cosmetic products that have already been introduced to the market."

UK

Animal testing on cosmetics or their ingredients was banned in the UK in 1998.

Jurisdictions where prohibitions are considered

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is potentially "making strides toward ending cosmetics testing on animals."

Australia

In Australia, the End Cruel Cosmetics Bill was introduced to Parliament in March 2014, which would ban local testing, which generally doesn't happen there, and importation of cosmetics tested on animals. In 2016 a bill was passed to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals, which came into effect in July 2017.

Brazil

Brazil's legislation will vote on a nationwide animal testing for cosmetics ban by the end of March 2014.

Canada

The animal experimentation industry is largely unregulated and allowed to operate in near secrecy. No one knows exactly how many animals are used because many private-sector experimenters are unregulated and not required to disclose the numbers of animals used, species, or the types of tests they perform. The number of private facilities conducting animal experiments in Canada is unknown.

United States

In March 2014, the Humane Cosmetics Act was introduced to the U.S. congress which would ban cosmetic testing on animals and eventually would ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals. The bill did not advance.

Mexico

On March 19, 2020, the Mexican Senate unanimously passed legislation banning testing cosmetics on animals. The proposed ban now awaits approval from the lower house of the Mexican Congress, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies.

South Korea

South Korea is also potentially "making strides toward ending cosmetics testing on animals."

Taiwan

In 2015, Taiwan launched a bill proposing a ban on cosmetic testing on animals. It passed in 2016 and went into effect in 2019. Shortly before the ban went into effect on November 9, 2019, however, it was noted that most Taiwan cosmetic companies already did not experiment with animals.

Other statuses

China

China passed a law on 30 June 2014 to eliminate the requirement for animal testing of cosmetics. Though domestically-produced ordinary cosmetic goods do not require testing, animal testing is still mandated by law for Chinese-made "cosmeceuticals" which are available for sale in China. Cosmetics intended solely for export are exempt from the animal testing requirement. As of March 2019, post-market testing for finished imported and domestically produced cosmetic products will no longer require animal testing. Chinese law was further amended in April 2020, fully dropping all remaining mandatory animal testing requirements for all cosmetics - both locally produced and imported, instead creating a regulatory 'preference' for non-animal based testing methods in the safety certification of cosmetic products.

Russia

In 2013, the Russian Ministry of Health stated "Toxicological testing is performed by means of testing for skin allergic reaction or test on mucous tissue/eye area or by use of alternative general toxicology methods. In this manner the technical regulations include measures which provide an alternative to animal testing".