The European Parliament has urged the EU to launch a diplomatic effort to introduce a worldwide ban on cosmetics testing on animals by 2023.
The sale of all cosmetic products which have been tested on animals has been illegal in the EU since 2013, but the parliament now wants to expand this to a prohibition on all cosmetics testing on animals, and for countries around the world to join in this effort.
Currently, some 80% of countries around the world still allow animal testing and the sale of cosmetics products tested on animals. What’s more, there are loopholes in the EU’s regulation, allowing for products which are tested on animals outside the EU to be retested within the bloc’s jurisdiction using different methods and then placed on the market.
Another loophole applies to the ingredients in many cosmetics products, which are used in other products such as pharmaceuticals or food, and may have been tested on animals as part of the development of these non-cosmetics products.
How can this be addressed?
In their statement, MEPs noted that the EU ban on cosmetics products which are tested on animals has had no negative impact on the EU cosmetics industry, which still accounts for some two million jobs across the bloc.
However, efforts need to be extended to ensure that products in the EU market have not been tested on animals in non-EU countries beforehand. Additionally, more data needs to be gathered in order to fully address the scale of animal testing globally, and the impact this has had on the EU.
The push for diplomatic efforts to curb cosmetics testing on animals around the world was adopted in the European Parliament with 620 votes to 14, demonstrating the overwhelming support for this effort among MEPs.
It calls for EU leaders to use their diplomatic networks to build a coalition, with the ultimate aim of launching an international convention within the UN framework to facilitate a full, global ban on cosmetics testing of animals in 2023.
