Animal Testing
September 3, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
The European Union has finalised a joint agreement with Colipa, the body representing the European cosmetics industry to match funds to provide research and development into alternatives to animal testing.
The EU have committed 25 million Euros fund the research and this has been matched by Colipa.
Bertil Heemik, Director-General of Collipa stated “Our industry welcomes the opportunity to contribute funding to this initiative, which has a key role to play in the process towards full replacement of animal safety tests in the scientifically complex area of systematic toxicity.”
It has taken over twenty years for the banning of testing on animals to come into law and be enforced after endless political and lengthy negotiations. Certain tests involving the effects on fertility and overall toxicity will continue before being finally ruled out in 2013.
It is heartening that 50 million Euros of funding has been made available to find alternatives and end animal testing.
Consumers can find skin care products not tested on animals nor the ingredients at http://www.skinsaviour.com.au
Slow progress on animal testing ban
June 19, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
SLOW PROGRESS ON ALTERNATIVES TO ANIMAL TESTING
Animal testing is due to be completely banned in the EU by 2013. Too far away for those of us who support an immediate ban on all animal testing in skin care and cosmetics.
For those who will have the ban enforced upon them there have been problems in finding safe and effective alternatives. In the areas of sensitisation and irritation progress has been easier than areas such as cancer and reproductive toxicity the search for an alternative has been and looks like continuing to move slowly.
The EU commissioner for consumer affairs Meglena Kuneva has stated
” I therefore hope that more efforts will be invested in this area, including from the cosmetics industry, in order to accelerate the new development of scientific concepts and techniques such as Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships in order to comply with given deadlines in 2009 and 2013.”
The EU has signed a co-operation agreement with Canada, Japan and the United States to promote the fast tracking of finding alternative methods to animal testing. This combined approach can only be of help in ensuring the 2013 deadline is met.
In the interim I guess we can support those companies that don’t test their products on animals.