EU Voted for ban on sales of cosmetics that have been tested

Current plans to ban animal testing for cosmetics has been put back, yet again, to June 2002 and it is highly likely that this deadline will be further delayed. No new licences for animal testing have been issued since 1998 and manufacturers who hold existing licences have been asked not to use them. In effect, this means there is a voluntary ban on animal testing by manufacturers in the UK. Austria and the Netherlands have a similar voluntary ban but animal testing of cosmetics continues in France, Italy and Belgium where annually, 38,000 animals are experimented on by the cosmetics industry.

This new law effectively prevents manufacturers from sending their products to countries outside the EU to be tested on animals and it also prevents the import of cosmetics that have been tested on animals. It may be the only way to force the cosmetics industry to step up its research into alternative tests, which include human testing by volunteers, computer modelling and in-vitro test on cell cultures.

It may take some time for all of the offending products to disappear from the shelves but, if you want to buy cosmetics that have been manufactured humanly now, look out for the new happy bunny logo.