Dove and The Body Shop partner with Peta and CFI to defend cruelty-free cosmetics testing
Cosmetic giants Dove and The Body Shop have announced their first-ever partnership, which is calling on the EU to protect the ban on testing products on animals.
Campaigners warn that accepting the ECHA’s ruling could lead to much wider use of animal testing in the UK
The two brands are joining forces with Peta, Cruelty-Free Europe, HSI, Eurogroup for Animals and the ECEAE. The collective hopes to protect the ban on animal testing in cosmetics following the recent threats to Europe’s longstanding ban by the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Board of Appeal, which requires certain ingredients to be tested on animals before they’re used by humans.
Campaigners warn that accepting the ECHA’s ruling could also lead to much wider use of animal testing in the UK.
What’s the issue?
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In 2004 the European Union banned the testing of cosmetics products on animals; in 2009 it prohibited tests for cosmetics ingredients; and, finally, in 2013 it prohibited the sale of cosmetics that had been tested on animals. The EU’s approach became the blueprint for regulatory change in countries around the world.
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Yet recent test requirements from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) effectively destroy the bans and threaten the additional progress the European Parliament has been boldly calling for since 2018 – a global ban on all animal testing for cosmetics by 2023.
Why are Dove and The Body Shop partnering up?
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Joining forces as a collective voice for animals, Dove and The Body Shop both have longstanding legacies against animal testing, building two of the world’s biggest cruelty-free brands that believe animal testing is not necessary to ensure safety in cosmetics.
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The Body Shop has campaigned relentlessly against the practice of animal testing for cosmetics since 1989, while Dove has spent 60 years working to change the beauty industry for the better.
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Forming an allegiance for united action against animal testing, Dove’s global commitment is to permanently end tests on animals everywhere, alongside The Body Shop’s longstanding lobbying work toward the worldwide ban on animal-tested cosmetics.
What does the campaign involve?
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The two brands are joining Peta, Cruelty-Free Europe, HSI, Eurogroup for Animals and the ECEAE (representing a total of 100 member organizations from 26 EU member states) to urgently mobilize 1 million European citizens and save cruelty-free cosmetics in Europe.
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The collective’s petitions demand that the European Commission protect and strengthen the cosmetics animal testing ban, transform EU chemicals regulation and modernize regulatory science in the EU.
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Murals across major cities in Europe, including Paris, Berlin and Madrid, are encouraging people to sign a European Citizens Initiative – a mechanism for EU citizens to help shape the EU by calling on the European Commission to propose new laws.
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UK citizens can sign CFI’s ‘Plan to phase out animal experiments’ petition, and use their social channels to recruit their friends and followers to do the same.