Questions and answers on animal testing for cosmetics | PETA

Today it is well known: Animal testing of cosmetics is not necessary to produce excellent cosmetic products. Unfortunately, however, they are still not a thing of the past. In this article we at PETA Germany answer the most important questions on this topic.

Which products are considered cosmetics in Germany/the EU?

What constitutes a cosmetic product differs from case to case. But the term does not only include make-up. Typically, cosmetics are considered:

Which animals are abused in animal experiments for cosmetics?

Animal tests for cosmetics mostly use rats, mice, guinea pigs or rabbits, which are bred for this purpose, hidden from the public eye. The animals sit in sparse cages all their lives and only know artificial light, bars and the four walls of the laboratory. If they're lucky, they'll be given a small toy, nesting material, or shelter.

But the sensitive animals deserve so much more - they are living beings, not laboratory equipment. Each and every animal is an individual with their own personality and feelings, which is also reflected in fascinating behaviors. Male mice, for example, sing to their mates, rats play hide-and-seek, guinea pigs like to chat, and rabbits "crunch" their teeth when they feel comfortable.

How are cosmetics tested on animals?

Experiments on animals are unscientific, cruel and ethically unacceptable - whether they are conducted for cosmetics or for any other reason. In a single test for a single cosmetic ingredient, sometimes over 1,000 rats or rabbits are tortured.

Here is one of many examples of the cruel experiments: In order to find out whether rabbits develop birth defects in the womb, a cosmetic ingredient is pumped into the stomachs of hundreds of rabbits during pregnancy. The animals and their unborn offspring are then killed and dissected. In other trials, experimenters wait until the babies are born and subject them to the same horrific fate as their mothers. Those responsible monitor the growth and survival of the rabbits and in some cases continue to administer the respective substances. The animals are induced to mate in order to observe their fertility and toxic effects on the following generation.

How many animals die in animal testing for cosmetics?

Exact numbers are not known. However, it is estimated that in China alone at least 300,000 animals are used each year for experiments with cosmetic products or their ingredients. The global numbers are much higher.

Isn't animal testing for cosmetics banned in the EU?

Jein: There is both a testing and a marketing ban:

Nevertheless, since the animal testing ban came into force, thousands of animals have been abused in experiments for 63 purely cosmetic ingredients in the EU.

Are all cosmetics sold in the EU cruelty-free?

Unfortunately not. Despite the existing bans, you can still buy cosmetics from us whose ingredients have been tested on animals. The animal experiments may have been carried out both in the EU and in other countries.

Animal testing outside the EU

If a cosmetics company wants to sell its products in China, for example, animal testing is usually carried out there as standard. For example, in such an experiment, the product is injected into a guinea pig, forcibly administered into a rat, or dropped into the eyes of a rabbit. As long as these tests are not used to prove the products are safe for the EU, companies can allow animal testing in other countries and still sell their products in the EU.

Animal testing within the EU

As part of the chemicals regulation REACH, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) still requires animal testing for chemicals that are used exclusively as cosmetic ingredients. The European Commission and the ECHA Board of Appeal also support this approach. In doing so, this requirement undermines the prohibitions of the Cosmetics Regulation and contradicts its original intention – to ensure that animals no longer suffer and die for cosmetics.

ECHA claims the tests are necessary to ensure the safety of employees who may come into contact with the substances. However, because of the fundamental biological differences between humans and other animals, animal test results cannot reliably predict how a substance will affect humans.

PETA's official list of cruelty-free cosmetics and other products (PETA Approved Global Animal Test Policy) surpasses the patchy legal requirements and lists companies and brands that do not test on animals worldwide, commissioned and commissioned by third parties.

Which countries still test cosmetics on animals?

China is the largest market with a general animal testing requirement for cosmetics. Some other countries, such as Russia, also require certain animal tests for cosmetics. But there are still cosmetic tests in the EU, although certain bans already apply here

As PETA revealed in 2012, some cruelty-free companies have condoned the testing of their products on animals in China. Hundreds of thousands of animals worldwide are tortured and killed in cruel toxicity tests every year. To do this, certain substances are pumped into the animals' stomachs or chemicals are applied to their skin or eyes.

Things are improving now, thanks to the commitment of PETA USA, the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), and dedicated companies that have joined our cause. In March 2021, the Chinese government announced that it had created a way for at least some cosmetics to be sold in China without animal testing. Unfortunately, that does not mean that there are no more animal experiments. Other countries, for example the USA, do not require animal testing for cosmetics, but the experiments are not prohibited either.

Where is animal testing for cosmetics prohibited?

Despite all the implementation problems, the EU bans represent a historic victory for animals and have served as inspiration for similar bans in many countries, including Switzerland and Turkey, India, Israel, New Zealand, Norway and Australia.

Corresponding bills are currently being debated in other countries, including the USA and Canada. Several US states have already banned animal testing for cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients. Unfortunately, the majority of these laws have loopholes that allow tests required by the authorities to still take place. [1]

Which brands test on animals?

With our purchasing power, we can ensure that animal testing comes to an end. Every time we buy something, we make a decision for or against animal testing - and that decision sends an important signal to cosmetics companies. We are telling them: As long as you still allow animal testing, we will not support you with our money.

What is the difference between "cruelty-free" and "vegan"?

Cruelty-free means that a company does not allow any animal testing for its products or ingredients. Vegan products do not contain any animal ingredients. Look for products with the PETA Approved Global Animal Test Policy logo and the Vegan logo.

What does cruelty free mean?

One often reads that a product is “cruelty-free”. Beauty bloggers talk about it, and companies often adorn themselves with it in their guidelines. But just like labels such as "organic", "sustainable" or "environmentally friendly", the label "cruelty-free" cannot guarantee that a product has not actually been tested on animals or that it is completely "cruelty-free" - i.e. also vegan - is, which literally means "cruelty-free". There is no globally valid, official definition of the term.

Even if "cruelty-free" has become a synonym for "free from animal testing", a product is only free from animal cruelty and cruelty if it is also vegan.

In PETA's list of cruelty-free products, companies are certified as cruelty-free (PETA Approved Global Animal Test Policy) if they do not conduct or permit testing on animals. Brands that not only exclude animal testing, but also other animal cruelty through ingredients such as honey, beeswax or carmine, are certified as cruelty-free and vegan (PETA Approved Vegan Global Animal Test Policy).

How do I know if a product is cruelty free or not?

If you really want to be sure that you are not co-financing cruel and useless animal experiments, you should buy cosmetics that are on the "PETA Approved" list. The database includes over 600 brands available in Germany, PETA USA's international database even includes over 5,000 global brands that do not test on animals. Vegan companies are also marked.

If a brand is not on PETA's Cruelty-Free List, can I trust the Cruelty-Free or Cruelty-Free label?

Be critical: Product labeling can be deceiving. The law does not specify exactly what "animal testing-free" means. For example, if a company claims not to test on animals but isn't on our PETA Approved list, that could mean that the company commissions or sponsors animal testing. Some manufacturers say they do not test on animals unless required by law. This usually means that they knowingly choose to sell their products in countries that have certain animal testing regulations.

If you're in contact with a company that claims to be cruelty-free but isn't on our list, ask them for a written commitment and send it to PETA. We will then contact the company and find out if it meets our criteria in this regard. Until then, we can only recommend that all animal lovers buy products from brands that are on our list.

Do not forget: Products that are sold in other countries, e.g. B. China, tested on animals can still be sold in the EU. In addition, ingredients may also have been tested on animals within the EU.

When is a company listed as cruelty-free or PETA-approved?

In order for a company or brand to be listed as cruelty-free and to bear the PETA Approved Global Animal Test Policy logo, it must pledge that it will not test, commission, or permit animal testing at any stage of product development, including for ingredients nor for the end product. There must be agreements with the supplier companies that ensure that they also do not conduct, commission or permit any animal testing for the ingredients purchased by the company.

If all submitted documents are checked successfully, the company will then be included in our database of cruelty-free companies and brands free of charge. If you are interested, the logo can also be purchased for a one-time license fee of 350 US dollars.

Do cosmetics have to be tested on animals?

Animal testing is absolutely inexcusable - especially when you consider how many animal-free methods already exist to assess the safety of cosmetics and chemicals. Even if the safety of a cosmetic product or its ingredients cannot be proven using animal-free methods, the product or the ingredient should simply not be used - because the life of an animal is much more important than a new lipstick or a tube of toothpaste.

Why are animal experiments unreliable?

Animal toxicity testing is based on the assumption that the effect of a chemical or ingredient on an animal predicts how the substance will affect humans - but this is not the case.

In addition to the fact that substances act differently in different species, some of the common and legally required tests on animals have never been validated. [2] Thus, their reliability and relevance for humans have not been proven - and yet thousands of animals are abused and killed for such experiments.

When you consider the biological differences between humans and other animals, as well as the unnatural and extremely stressful circumstances in which animals find themselves in laboratories, it quickly becomes clear: the results of animal experiments are often completely meaningless for humans and cannot protect us.

What are the alternatives to animal testing? What animal-free methods are there?

The EU bans have led to a real boom in the development of animal-free methods for safety testing of cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients. [3] State-of-the-art methods such as three-dimensional tissue models and computer simulations are now routinely used to ensure safety without harming a single animal.

There is no good reason to inject guinea pigs with lipstick ingredients to wait for possible skin reactions; or feeding rats for weeks or months shampoo ingredients that cause nausea, convulsions, weight loss, and eventual death; or giving the ingredients of a face cream to pregnant rabbits to check if their newborns are born with birth defects.

Why are animal tests for cosmetics still carried out despite alternatives?

When a company decides to sell its products in countries like China, which still require animal testing, they are putting profit before ethics. For profits from a lipstick or a new shampoo, she condemns animals to a miserable life and to death. In Germany and the EU, the situation is somewhat more complicated, since the existing ban on animal testing for cosmetics is overridden by other regulations. Some ingredient supply companies are actively opposed to animal testing and are combating these testing requirements.

Our message to authorities and companies is clear: cosmetics should only be placed on the market with animal-free testing methods. If this is not possible, the ingredient should not be used.

How does PETA help animals abused in cosmetics trials?

PETA and PETA's international partner organizations have been fighting against animal testing for cosmetics for decades - both with sensational, provocative actions and with reports about animal cruelty in test laboratories. With our public relations work we inform why animal experiments are unreliable and not transferable to humans and support modern, animal-free science.

Behind the scenes, our scientists meet with MPs, cosmetics companies and suppliers, represent the animals in legal and administrative cases, prepare scientific documents and opinions and speak at international conferences and workshops. The PETA Science Consortium International is also directly helping to develop innovative animal-free methods that can replace painful tests on animals.

PETA recently joined forces with other animal rights organizations and cruelty-free companies The Body Shop and Dove to launch a European Citizens' Initiative. The goal: a comprehensive EU ban on animal testing.

Regardless of this citizens' initiative, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that soon not a single animal is killed for eyeshadow or deodorant sticks.

What you can do against animal testing

Join the EU citizens' initiative for an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics: Only together can we collect one million signatures as quickly as possible and thus send a clear message that animal testing for cosmetics must be abolished once and for all. Thank you for your support and for making your voice – and the voices of all the animals in research labs – heard.

Also, only buy cosmetics that have not been tested on animals – simply refer to our list of cruelty-free companies and brands!