STAND UP FOR CRUELTY FREE COSMETICS
he Leaping Bunny is the globally recognised gold standard for Cruelty Free cosmetics, personal care products/household products and cleaning products. It is the only cruelty free licence that requires a supplier monitoring system to be implemented by the brand, supply chain checking for animal testing right down to ingredient manufacture level, adherence to a fixed cut-off date policy and acceptance of ongoing independent audits to ensure compliance.
What’s happening? As many of you may already have heard, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is stepping up aggressive implementation of European chemicals laws, requiring the REINTRODUCTION of animal tests on substances used solely or mainly in cosmetics. Hundreds of thousands of animals are ONCE AGAIN AT RISK of suffering for cosmetics in Europe. WE’RE ANGRY AND WE’RE DISAPPOINTED, and we are going to do everything we can to stop this. We know that you will be feeling the same, and we will be asking all our Leaping Bunny brands and your customers to join us to fight this renewed animal testing, safeguard the animal testing bans in the European Union Cosmetics Regulations and maintain the cruelty free certification that your company The Victorian Garden work so hard for and that your customers want.
Why now? In 2013, the European Commission assured citizens that animal testing of cosmetics products and ingredients in the European Union, and the sale of cosmetics tested on animals elsewhere, was a thing of the past. Without exception, the collective decision of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to phase in the bans was complete. Europe was taking a moral stance, reflecting the overwhelming concerns of people across the continent. Over time, it has become increasingly clear that the Commission and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – an agency overseeing implementation of chemical safety laws – are ignoring the decisions made by elected politicians and the people they represent, not only interpreting the testing bans as applicable just to ingredients used exclusively in cosmetics but also going as far as to require renewed animal tests for cosmetic ingredients based, they claim, on “consumer safety concerns”. This is clearly ‘over REACHing’ their responsibility – the latter scenario lies clearly under the Cosmetics Regulation. Information uncovered by the Cruelty Free International science team and reports from our Leaping Bunny companies highlight how serious this situation has now become. This is not something we could have predicted as we have always been led to led to believe the cosmetics testing bans would take precedence over REACH.
WE KNOW THAT THESE ARE CHANGES THAT OUR SUPPORTERS AND CRUELTY FREE CONSUMERS WILL NOT LIKE EITHER. Most of all, we know that they will be angry about the actions of ECHA and the European Commission. In the interests of transparency, we believe that it’s better to make you aware of exactly what’s going on so that you have all the information to hand and so that we can all join together in fighting against animal testing and FIGHT for our “Leaping bunny’ symbol!
We currently don’t have any REACH testing – why are we being implicated in this change? Can we have a different logo or something to differentiate us from the certified brands that now have REACH testing in their products? Obviously, some brands are affected more than others by REACH testing. It very much depends on the number and type of products a company offers, and the ingredients these products contain. Brands with, for example, sun care ranges will be extensively affected. However, the direction of travel of ECHA suggests that even those brands that currently may not be affected by regulatory chemicals testing could well be affected in the near future. We feel we are stronger together as Cruelty Free International and Leaping Bunny brands and that united, we stand more chance of ending this testing. Up to now, Leaping Bunny has not allowed any new regulatory animal testing of the ingredients or raw materials used predominantly in cosmetics or household products. We’re not about to open the floodgates to this type of testing either. However, because of encroachment by regulatory authorities such as the European Chemicals Agency, we will now very reluctantly maintain Leaping Bunny status for brands in cases where an ingredient or raw material, already established in the market in which it is currently used, is subject to enforced regulatory testing for non-cosmetics or non-household products purposes. This would also apply in other jurisdictions where enforced regulatory testing impacts on ingredients that are already established and used. In these cases, our Leaping Bunny team will be screening every incidence of any animal testing and working with brands to explore all options for replacing the ingredients concerned. Where this is not possible, we will ensure that only those ingredients that meet specific post-market, forced testing requirements remain in formulations. Alongside this, our science and public affairs teams will be focused on making sure that everything is done to stop this testing from happening and to making sure that the cosmetics testing bans are properly implemented.
Why do the European Commission and ECHA think they are justified in requesting these animal tests? According to their joint 2014 statement, the European Commission and ECHA consider that the Cosmetic Regulation testing bans only apply to human health relevant animal tests that are done for the purpose of ensuring safety for use in a cosmetic product. They consider that if new testing is needed to assess the safety for those workers making the cosmetic, or where the substance has other non-cosmetic uses, for professionals or other workers making and using the substance, then this would be permitted (indeed required) under REACH. We disagree with this analysis because the animal tests ARE THE SAME, regardless of whether the justification is worker or consumer safety – we are all humans! In that way they are undermining the Cosmetic Regulation testing bans which even REACH itself says must take precedence. If these substances are considered safe to use (often in high quantities and repeatedly) by consumers for cosmetic purposes, then we are not persuaded that there is any additional risk to workers. If there are genuine safety concerns to workers then the appropriate step, in our view, would be to restrict the use of the substance rather than ask for new animal tests.
However, worryingly – and wrongly we feel – ECHA, supported by many EU member states which are evaluating REACH chemicals, are selecting substances for substance evaluation review that are used exclusively or predominantly in cosmetics. In these instances, they often say they are concerned about safety to consumers, however, as this is the remit of the Cosmetics Regulation our view is that this approach is simply ‘mission creep’ by ECHA. What can we continue to say about our Leaping Bunny certification? Why should we continue to be a proud Leaping Bunny brand? Leaping Bunny has never permitted final product testing whether that takes place before or after a product is placed on the market, and it still won’t. Leaping Bunny does not allow any new animal testing of new raw materials or ingredients to be used in cosmetic or household products, whether this is testing required by a regulator or exploratory testing by a company. It still won’t. Leaping Bunny does not allow animal testing for cosmetics purposes (defined by the EU Cosmetics Regulation), whether this is for new or existing cosmetic ingredients and raw materials. For example, testing for cosmetic purposes required by regions such as the USA or China would not be permitted regardless of whether the ingredient or raw material is new to the market there or not. It still won’t. The Leaping Bunny certification is still the best globally-recognised cruelty free assurance. The certification remains stronger than any testing bans anywhere in the world and acts as a beacon for markets where there are no bans yet in place. As you are well aware, many companies have very long supply chains. Leaping Bunny is the only certification that checks every step of the chain for animal testing. As a certified brand, you know how thorough that process is. You know that Leaping Bunny certification is – and will continue to be – the most rigorous, global, cruelty free accreditation. Unlike some cruelty free accreditations, we take nothing on trust. Whereas others may accept a one-off declaration from the product manufacturer or raw material distributor, we insist on declarations from every level of the supply chain where animal testing can occur, and we continue to spot check the declarations regularly after a brand has certified, using independent audits. You can imagine therefore how hard the enforced regulatory testing changes are for us and we know how hard they will be for you, our Leaping Bunny brands. We are convinced that the Leaping Bunny continues to demonstrate which brands are truly committed to ending animal testing and are willing to go the extra mile. It remains the best assurance that a company is doing all it can to ensure its products, raw materials and ingredients meet the highest global, cruelty free standard. In addition, unlike other certifications, we combine all of the rigour of the certification with impactful campaigning to end animal testing everywhere and forever and our experts continue to challenge and fight every ECHA request for an animal test