Animal testing not needed in Canada's cosmetic industry

Guest Commentary
By Troy Seidle

September 27 was International Rabbit Day, and although you likely won’t see any parades winding their way down Main Street to mark the occasion, it’s relevant to Canadian consumers in a big way. Specifically, it’s a grim reminder of how far we still have to go in banning cruel animal testing for cosmetics. Yes, in Canada it’s still legal for cosmetic chemicals to be dripped in rabbits’ eyes and spread on their delicate skin just to test new lipsticks and anti-wrinkle creams.
You’d think a country like Canada would have done away with cruel and outdated animal testing for beauty products years ago, but sadly the exact opposite is true. Testing bans exist in the European Union and neighboring countries, Israel, India and the Brazilian state of São Paulo, with similar measures pending in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Taiwan. Why isn’t Canada on that list, and how do we catch up?
The #BeCrueltyFree campaign, a Humane Society International initiative, is a global effort that supports safe, humane innovation in the beauty industry by eliminating animal testing. Even China and Russia are stepping up with important advances in regulatory policy, and now it’s Canada’s turn.
Let’s start with what Canadians think: polling found that a whopping 88 percent of us believe animal testing causes pain and suffering to animals and that such suffering just for cosmetics isn’t worth it, especially when safe ingredients are already available. Significantly, eight out of ten Canadians support a nation-wide ban on the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals.
Great, so we know that consumers want a test ban. What about industry? Well, the majority of cosmetic companies in Canada are simply too small to likely be involved in expensive new animal testing. As such, a Canadian animal test ban would have little or no impact on the day-to-day activities of the vast majority of our national industry. Lots of successful Canadian beauty brands are already cruelty-free, such as Evoke the Elements Within and Batty’s Bath, so for them it would be business as usual too. Furthermore, banning cosmetics animal testing in Canada would mean that all Canadian brands are eligible for sale in the world’s largest cosmetics market, the EU, where the sale of animal-tested cosmetics has been banned since 2013. So a test ban would be good news for Canadian business.
Talking about change is one thing, but the mechanics of making it happen is a challenge unto itself. In Canada, cosmetics are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Directorate of Health Canada under the authority of the Food and Drugs Act and the Cosmetic Regulations. Neither specifically requires animal testing but it’s crazy that the law allows it to continue at all. In fact, animal testing for cosmetics could be stopped today, and it would benefit us consumers if it did. Many of these animal testing methods are decades old, unreliable and increasingly discredited for under or over-estimating a chemical’s effects on people. Simply put, relying on mice and rats to assess cosmetics safety just isn’t good science. No wonder these outdated tests are increasingly being replaced by state-of-the-art, quicker, cheaper and more human-relevant non-animal methods.
Our elected officials can do two things to make this right: firstly amend federal cosmetics law to prohibit animal testing for cosmetic purposes in Canada; secondly, end the sale of cosmetic products and ingredients tested on animals abroad after a fixed cut-off date. Together, these measures would end cosmetics cruelty inside Canada, and prevent companies from sneaking in animal testing by the back door by exporting it abroad.
Even without legislation in place, the cruelty-free movement is already well underway. Hundreds of successful companies such as LUSH, Lippy Girl and Barry M have sworn off animal testing, yet still produce new, safe and profitable beauty products. They use safe, existing ingredients – not newly-developed chemicals that are animal tested – and can far more reliably assure the safety of products using modern, scientifically validated, non-animal testing methods.
Earlier this year, HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree campaigners went coast-to-coast to connect with Canadians, most of whom had no idea that cosmetics cruelty is still permitted in Canada. Our #BeCrueltyFree petition with corporate supporter LUSH yielded more than 50,000 signatures in just a few weeks. Cruelty-free options are increasingly available, even mainstream.
So while International Rabbit Day may not have the same holiday heft as, say, Christmas, its significance cannot be denied – especially in light of how united we are as a country in the fight to end needless animal suffering in the beauty industry.

Troy Seidle is the Director, Research & Toxicology Department at the Humane Society International.

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