BAN ANIMAL
TESTING

ON COSMETIC PRODUCTS AND INGREDIENTS

We were the first global beauty brand to fight against animal testing in cosmetics. Over the last three decades, we’ve worked with our campaign partner Cruelty Free International and our collective efforts helped lead to a European Union ban in 2013. But that isn’t enough. 80% of countries still allow animal testing. Animals continue to be used in testing, and we want to end this practice everywhere and forever.

1989

The Body Shop started campaigning to end animal testing in cosmetics, the first global cosmetics company to do so.

1998

Following our sustained campaign, the UK government banned animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredients.

2003

Campaigning by The Body Shop and BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, now Cruelty Free International) contributed to a European Union ban on animal testing in cosmetic products.

2009

The European Union implements its ban on animal testing in cosmetic ingredients.

2013

We celebrate history. The sale and import of animal tested products and ingredients is banned, completing the EU ban. Our campaign with Cruelty Free International collects 1 million signatures, influencing significant progress across the world as South Korea, New Zealand and India now have a variety of bans in place. Australia is set to follow with a ban promised by July 2017 as is Taiwan in 2019. Cruelty Free International have trained scientists in Vietnam and are now discussing with Thailand and other governments the possibility of a ban across ASEAN.

2017

We reach 3 million signatures in our campaign with Cruelty Free International.

2018

We reach 8 million signatures in our campaign with Cruelty Free International. We take our petition to the United Nations to ban animal testing in cosmetics worldwide.

2019

We continue to see great progress across the world. In June, Nevada becomes the second state after California to end the sale of newly animal-tested cosmetics, while in Canada all three major parties spoke in favour of the Canadian Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act. Cosmetics animal testing prohibitions come into force in Taiwan and the House of Representatives in Colombia vote in favour of a bill to end the use of animals in tests for cosmetic products and ingredients.

OUR COMMITMENT

We have never tested any of our ingredients or products on animals and we never will, and we only source ingredients from suppliers who meet the cruelty free and Leaping Bunny standard. No ifs, ands or buts: you can ensure that The Body Shop products are cruelty-free. That’s why we proudly display the Leaping Bunny logo in our stores. Not every cosmetic company is able to achieve this standard.

it requires a significant commitment by our business, including regular audits by Cruelty Free International. On a day-to-day basis, we are extremely rigorous in our approach. We request verification from every supplier every year that they are not using ingredients tested on animals. If we don’t get this commitment, we’ll change suppliers, in some cases we’ve had to remove the ingredient altogether and reformulate our products.

SO HOW DO WE TEST?

Our The Body Shop products undergo extensive testing to ensure they are safe and effective for use, while remaining cruelty-free. We use three main testing methods involving computer data, laboratory-created tissues and people:
In-silico (computer-based) analysis uses readily available, existing data which will help us to assess the suitability of similar materials through a process of extrapolation of this information.
aboratory-produced EpiSkin (created by L'Oreal), is grown from human skin cells and allows us to conduct safety checks on cells that react in virtually the same way as human skin without harming any people or animals.
Finally, to ensure good tolerance on people we will often test our products using patch testing, which involves placing a very small amount of product on person's skin to ensure that it is safe and effective, usually at the final stage of testing a new formulation. We will also carry out controlled user trials where people test our products for both skin compatibility and cosmetic effectiveness, under the supervision of medical experts when required.

LET'S BAN ANIMAL TESTING WORLDWIDE

Here are the countries where animal testing is banned today. Not many, right? That needs to change.

#ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting